A New Battle
by RocknRoll Kenshin
Summary: In a town filled with evil vampires only one man can save the innocent people of modern day Tokyo, but is he really all that he appears to be or does he hold a secret that could destroy everything?
1. Rescuer In The Dark

**A New Battle**

**Chapter 1- Rescuer In The Dark**

Kamiya Kaoru hurried down the dark street she was on, eager to get home and into the light. The movie had lasted longer than she'd expected and now it was well past nightfall and she absolutely hated to be out after dark. She'd heard so many stories about vampires lurking within the allies and dark streets that she was almost paranoid, she knew vampires were real, although she'd never seen one herself. She suddenly sensed someone behind her and she picked up her already fast pace, hoping to loose whomever was following her. The presence grew in intensity and she made a dead sprint down the street, rounding a corner before she paused for a moment to catch her breath before taking off again but it was too late. The person following her had already caught up to her and grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into the ally nearby.

Kaoru struggled to get away but her captor was unbelievably strong. She brought her elbow into his ribs but he just chuckled and pushed her against the wall, causing her breath to catch when she met his eyes. They were a blazing silver color and they seemed to mesmerize her as he gazed down at her with a wicked smile, "You're a pretty one, I'm going to enjoy this."

"I don't think so!"

Kaoru brought her knee up into him but it surprisingly did nothing to him except get him to smile, "My, my, you're a feisty one, you are."

Kaoru had slight trouble understanding him due to his unusual accent, it was very thick and she could tell he wasn't from around here. Her eyes went wide when he leaned down towards her, his lips crushing against hers for a harsh kiss. She screamed out into his mouth and tried to push him away but he was just too strong for her to overpower. Out of desperation she bit down hard onto his lip, causing him to cry out and let go of her long enough for her to run past him and head for the end of the ally. She didn't go far, though, before she felt his hand grab her arm and pull her back, throwing her into the brick wall, her head smashing into it with brutal force.

Her vision started to blur as he came up to her again, grabbing her just below the elbows and lifting her up off of the ground with ease as he chuckled darkly, "You're stronger than I thought, I'm going to enjoy your blood."

"What... do you mean... my blood?"

He suddenly grinned, drawing a startled gasp from Kaoru as he revealed gleaming inch long fangs to her. Kaoru tried to push him away but her vision continued to blur as she felt blood trickle down her face and her limbs start to go numb. She was trying hard to remain conscious but it was becoming difficult to stay awake as her head began to throb from pain. Her eyes began to drift closed as he looked down at her, his eyes glowing ever so slightly as he spoke softly to her in a calming tone, "Just relax my pretty one, it'll all be over very soon."

Kaoru let a tear fall as she realized she was defeated, whimpering when he leaned down towards her neck, opening his mouth as his fangs neared her pulse. Kaoru felt a feeling of despair creep into her stomach but a cold voice at the end of the ally stopped him just as his fangs touched her, "Let her go."

"Stay out of this, this is none of your concern."

"It is now, do as I said, let her go."

"As you wish."

The vampire dropped Kaoru and charged at the man in the ally entrance. Kaoru watched through foggy eyes as they fought with one another, the stranger somehow managing to hold his own fairly well against the much stronger vampire. Her body finally gave out and she slumped to the ground, the last thing she heard was a cry of pain as the darkness claimed her.

So, how is it so far? Do I need to continue or stop right now before I get in too deep? Let me know and I'll decide what to do from there, 'k? Thanks guys, hope you like this new story as much as you like me :) lol.


	2. Come Stay With Me

**A New Battle**

**Chapter 2 - Come Stay With Me**

Kaoru awoke slowly to find herself in an unfamiliar room, shutting her eyes back to block out the bright light that invaded her vision. She tried to sit up but her body just wouldn't respond so she just laid still, hoping her body would wake up soon so she could leave. She laid still for sometime, just trying to get her strength back but sleep was starting to creep up on her once more. Just as she started to drift off she felt a cool, slightly damp cloth on her forehead and she forced her eyes open to see who had put it there. She was greeted by a pair of gentle violet eyes and a warm smile as he spoke softly to her, "Hello there, miss, I'm glad you're alright, that I am."

"That I am? Where am I?"

"You're at my place, that you are, you gave me quite a scare when you didn't wake up, that you did."

"What happened to the... vampire?"

"He's gone, that he is, you're safe now so don't be afraid."

Kaoru smiled and tried to sit up again, which she found to still be difficult to do. The man smiled and helped her sit up, chuckling at the flush that came to her cheeks as he did so, "Thank you, sir, so what's your name?"

"I'm Kenshin Himura, what's your name, miss?"

"I'm Kamiya Kaoru, nice to meet you, Kenshin. Thanks for helping me out earlier, I'm sorry to be a bother to you."

"Oh you're no bother, Miss Kaoru, that you're not, I enjoy helping others, that I do."

Kaoru smiled and actually took a look at her rescuer. He was only a few inches taller than her and he had long, blood red hair tied back into a ponytail on top of his head. His eyes were a gentle violet and shone brightly as he smiled sweetly at her, but what caught her attention the most was the cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, it stood out harshly against his pale skin but it did nothing to take away from his handsome, somewhat feminine face.

Kenshin smiled at her observation and cocked his head to one side, "Is something wrong, Miss Kaoru?"

"Huh? Oh no, I was... just thinking is all."

"Is that so? Well let me ask you something, if I may, why were you out so late at night by yourself, Miss Kaoru? It's awfully dangerous for a young woman like you to be out after sunset, that it is."

"I know, I went to see a movie and it lasted longer than I thought it would and I ran to get home but I guess I just wasn't fast enough is all."

"Well what's done is done, you're safe now and that's all that matters, that it is. You're more than welcome to stay until you're well enough to go home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I wouldn't be a gentleman if I let a young lady go home when she's injured, that I wouldn't. You can stay as long as you need to, Miss Kaoru, I don't mind the company, that I don't."

Kaoru smiled, "Thanks, I... hate to ask but... can I get a shower?"

"Of course, Miss Kaoru, there's some towels on the shelf in the bathroom and you're more than welcome to use anything you need. I need to run an errand so you need not worry about me walking in on you, that you don't, but are you sure you'll be ok until I get back?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, you go run your errand."

"Alright, I'll return shortly, that I will."

Kenshin left the room and Kaoru heard the front door open and shut as he made his exit. She had to sigh, he was so kind and gentle, she was actually starting to wonder if he was for real or not, she'd never met anyone like him before. She cautiously made her way to the bathroom and jumped in the shower, hissing when the hot water hit the cut on her head. After she felt like she was finally clean she got out and changed back into her clothes before heading back into the other room.

She smiled when she realized something that she hadn't before, she was in a hotel room, and a small one at that, the only furniture being a small desk, a couple of small dressers and an old bed. Kaoru looked around in the drawers and found a long dagger hidden in the of the dressers, she took it out and admired the craftsmanship of the weapon, marveling at how beautiful it was. It seemed to be a very old dagger, most likely from the 1800's but the blade shone as if it were brand new. She could see a few blood stains on a couple parts of the blade, guessing it was from when he was sharpening it and nicked himself on it. She put the dagger back where she'd found it and sat down at the foot of the bed, seeing a duffle bag near the door but she didn't see anything else that could belong to Kenshin. Kaoru scratched her chin thoughtfully and let her mind wonder, _"He wears nice clothes but he lives in this dinky hotel, maybe he's just in a bind right now or something, or maybe he's meeting someone! But why would I care if he's seeing someone, I just met him! Get a hold of yourself Kaoru, get your mind on something else!"_

Kaoru caught something out of the corner of her eye and picked it up, giggling when she saw what she'd found. It was a pair of his boxers but what got her to giggle was the numerous cartoon characters scattered about here and there on the deep blue fabric, "Well now I know what underwear he has on."

The door suddenly opened and in came a smiling Kenshin, "Hello Miss Kaoru, did you enjoy your shower?"

"Yes I did, thanks, but can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Are these yours?" she asked playfully, holding up the boxers.

Kenshin turned the color of his hair and snatched them away from her, putting them into his bag before laughing nervously, "I'm sorry about that, that I am, I wasn't really expecting company tonight, so I didn't bother to clean up, that I didn't."

Kaoru giggled, he had such an unusual way of talking but seeing his embarrassed flush and hearing him say 'that I am' made him look very cute and innocent, "I'm sorry, I was being nosy."

"That's ok, that it is, I don't have anything to hide, well... not anymore at least."

Kaoru laughed and Kenshin cracked a smile, "You have a pretty laugh, Miss Kaoru, that you do."

"Oh, flirting with me now, huh?"

Kenshin flushed brighter and started stuttering, "Um... no... I didn't mean anything by it... I was just... oh never mind, Miss Kaoru. I'm sure you're tired and want to get to sleep so why don't we turn in for the evening?"

"Sounds good."

"You can sleep on the bed, Miss Kaoru, I'll be over here if you need me."

Kaoru watched as he went over and sat against the far wall, leaning against it and resting one of his arms on his raised knee, "Are you sure you don't want the bed, Kenshin, it's your room after all."

"Oh no, I've slept on the wall before, that I have, I'm actually more comfortable on the floor than on the bed so please don't worry about me."

Kaoru smiled and crawled into the bed, trying to get comfortable but her tight jeans made that a difficult task to accomplish. Kaoru heard Kenshin chuckle as he dug something out of his bag before tapping her on the shoulder and handing it to her, "Here you go, Miss Kaoru, I think it will fit you."

"What is it?"

"It's an old shirt of mine, that it is, it's too small for me but I think it'll fit you just fine, it'll be more comfortable than your jeans, that it will."

Kaoru smiled and took the shirt into the bathroom, quickly changing into it and looking into the mirror to find out that he had lied about the size. It was a deep red T-shirt and it went down to just above her knees and she could've fit Kenshin in with her and still had room, _"I guess he likes baggy clothes, but it is comfy."_

Kaoru went back into the other room and got into bed, finding it much easier to get comfortable and it didn't take long before she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Kaoru awoke to a sweet smell and looked over on the dresser to see a cinnamon roll, some toast and a small cup of orange juice with a note beside of it. She read the note and couldn't help but smile, _"Sorry about the breakfast, Miss Kaoru, it was the only thing we had in the lobby this morning, that it was. I'm working at the front desk if you need for so please don't worry, I'll be back soon. Kenshin."_

Kaoru giggled and started eating her breakfast, Kenshin really was a sweet man, he didn't have to take care of her but here was this total stranger treating her like a friend or even a sister, making sure she had a place to sleep and eat until she was better. After she finished eating she threw away the paper plate and cup and looked around for her clothes, finding them on the edge of the bed folded neatly. She held them up to her nose and smiled when she realized they were clean, apparently Kenshin had washed them for her this morning. She chuckled to herself and changed into her normal clothes, planning to go find Kenshin to talk to him but by the time she finished dressing she felt nauseous and dizzy so she laid back down on the bed and covered her eyes with her forearm. She woke up about an hour or so later when someone tapped her shoulder, looking up to see Kenshin with a worried look in his eyes, "Still sleepy, Miss Kaoru?"

"No, I have a bad headache and I feel sick to my stomach for some reason."

Kenshin smiled and reached into his pocket, handing her a pack of aspirin and a soda from off of the desk, getting a smile from her, "Where'd you get those?"

"I figured you'd have a headache this morning after what happened last night and so I asked Taka to go and get this for you, that I did."

Kaoru took the medicine and playfully ruffled his hair, "Thanks Kenshin, you're really sweet."

"No problem, Miss Kaoru."

"So you work here?"

"Yes, I've been working here since I started staying here, that I have."

"How long have you been here?"

"About... two months, I think."

"Wow, they must like you, I've never heard of a hotel keeping a desk clerk that long."

Kenshin laughed, "Well, I'm not so sure, the boss seems to try and find different reasons to fire me, that he does, he just doesn't like me for some reason."

"I think it's because you're cuter than he is and he's just jealous."

Kenshin laughed and turned pink, "Thank you, Miss Kaoru but I don't think..."

There was a tap on the door and Kenshin answered it, smiling at the man there, "Hey Taka, what can I do for you?"

"Hey Kenshin, sorry to have to tell you this, man, but the boss wants you gone."

"What for? I haven't done anything wrong, that I haven't."

"I know, I want you to stay, you're the best worker here but what the boss says goes as you know. He said that he doesn't want his employees to have their girlfriends living with them while they're here."

"Oh, Miss Kaoru's not my girlfriend, she's just a young lady that I helped out last night, that she is."

"I know, sorry buddy, but... he said that you have to leave today."

Kenshin sighed but smiled sadly, "Alright, I'll clean the room and leave that I will."

"Sorry man, wish I could do something, gonna miss ya."

Taka shook his hand and went back to the office before Kenshin shut the door and ran a hand through his unruly hair, muttering to himself, "That's great..."

"Kenshin? Did they fire you because of me! I'm so sorry, Kenshin, I didn't mean to..."

Kenshin stopped her by placing a finger to her lips, smiling brightly at her, "Don't worry, Miss Kaoru, the boss has been trying to get rid of me since I got here, that he has, it's not because of you. He found you as a good excuse and I'm sorry for that, that I am, but don't worry, it's no big deal."

"Where are you going to stay now?"

"I'll find somewhere, that I will."

"Do you have family nearby?"

Kenshin paused for a moment and answered softly, "I don't have any family, Miss Kaoru, that I don't, I'm just a wanderer, I travel around and get a job where I can until they fire me then I go somewhere else, that I do."

"A wanderer! Well I won't have it, why don't you come and stay with me?"

Kenshin turned to look at her, his eyes wide in shock, "Miss Kaoru you hardly know me, I'm afraid I'll be far more trouble than I'm worth."

"Nonsense! You helped me and took care of me so it's the least I can do, besides, I think that if you were going to do something evil to me you would've done it already, right?"

Kenshin chuckled, "True, but Miss Kaoru..."

"No buts, you're staying with me and that's final and if you argue with me I'll kick your butt so hard you'll have a new set of shoulders, got it?"

"Got it!"

"Good, now let's get this room cleaned up and I'll take you home."

Kenshin smiled, he didn't realize that she could be so aggressive but he liked that in a woman, _"Maybe this will turn out ok, who knows, maybe Miss Kaoru and I can become... friends."_

After they straightened up the room they locked it back and Kenshin took the key to Taka and waved goodbye to the other workers before meeting Kaoru outside, "You ready, Kenshin?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Ok, let's go."

"Mr. Himura!"

They turned and a little boy run up to Kenshin and give him a high-five, "Hey Kobe, how are you today?"

"I'm good, are you leaving, Mr. Himura?"

"I'm afraid so, kiddo, the boss fired me because he was afraid I'd get you to work here and he'd lose his job."

The little boy laughed and hugged him, "I'll miss you, oh and my mom wants to know where she can get an extra towel."

Kenshin smiled and whistled shrilly, getting Taka to poke his head out of the door of the office, "What?"

"Can you get Mrs. Inmashi a set of towels?"

"We don't have any clean ones yet, their all in the wash."

"No they're not, I have a few stored in the janitor's closet for just such occasions, just be sure to keep it locked or Mushashino will get them all."

"Thanks man, come here Kobe, I'll get them for you."

"Ok, bye Mr. Himura."

Kobe ran off to the office and Kenshin started walking alongside Kaoru, not noticing her smirk as she looked to the office, seeing a large man at the door, "Who's that?"

"That's the boss."

Kaoru giggled, "Oh yeah, you're definitely cuter than he is."

Kenshin laughed and waved at a few of the guests as they headed off to do their daily routines, smiling down at Kaoru when she poked him in the ribs, "The guests seem to like you."

"The guests like me, the boss doesn't. Most of the guests ask for me when they come because I'm one of the only ones who actually get up and do something to help them."

Kaoru laughed, knowing what he meant. They talked the entire time they headed towards Kaoru's house, enjoying the company as they walked side by side. After about an hour they arrived at her dojo and she unlocked the door, "Here we are, come on in, I'll show you to your room."

Kaoru lead him to a room down near the end of the hall and slid the shoji open to let him inside, "This is the guest room just make yourself at home, Kenshin."

"Thank you, Miss Kaoru, I don't know how I can thank you for this."

Kaoru smiled, "Oh that's easy, you can do the laundry for me, I hate that chore."

Kenshin smiled and was about to say something then they heard a loud scream, "Kaoru! You're back, what happened to you!"

A little boy with spiky black hair came into the room and glared daggers at Kaoru, "Where have you been, ugly! We've all been worried about you!"

"Don't call me ugly! I had a long night and I'm not in the mood for your insults today, Yahiko, and besides where are your manners, we have a guest!"

Yahiko looked over at Kenshin and smiled evilly, "So you finally managed to kidnap a guy huh? What did she do to you, knock you over the head and drag you here?"

"Oro?"

Kaoru promptly hit Yahiko in the head with her fist and slightly growled at him, "Knock it off, Yahiko! And any ways, aren't you supposed to be practicing?"

"I've already practiced today and now I'm bored."

"Go find Sanosuke then."

"He went off with Misao to look for you."

"Then call his cell phone and tell him to get back over here, I have stuff to do."

Yahiko glanced at Kenshin and smirked, "I bet you got something to do, are you going to 'teach' him something?"

Kenshin and Kaoru both flushed and she started after him but he made a hasty exit down the hall, missing the glare Kaoru was giving him, "I'm sorry about that, Kenshin, Yahiko can be really obnoxious sometimes."

"That's ok, Miss Kaoru, that it is. Is he your little brother?"

"No, he's my student, his parents died about a year ago and they were good friends of mine so I took him in and now he stays with me."

"That's very kind of you, that it is, so what do you teach him?"

"The Kamiya Kasshin style, my several times great-grandfather invented it back during the 1800's and it's been a family tradition ever since."

"I'm impressed, that I am, so you're the master?"

"Well... I guess you could say that, but I'm really just the Assistant Master."

"I'd like to see you practice one day, I'm sure you're very good."

"I can fight if I have to, just as long as their not vampires but I have you for that now."

They both laughed and Kenshin set down his bag before he and Kaoru went out onto the porch to see Yahiko talking to a young girl with a long black braid and a tall man with spiky brown hair. The girl looked over at Kaoru and ran up to her, hugging her tightly, "Oh Kaoru, I was so worried! What happened to you?"

"Long story put short, I was coming home and I was pulled into an ally and then Kenshin saved me."

"Who's Kenshin?"

"He's Kenshin."

The girl looked over at him and frowned, "He looks like a bum."

Kenshin laughed, "Well I guess I kind of do look like a bum, that I do, so who are you?"

"I'm Misao Makimachi."

"And I'm Sanosuke Sagara, thanks for helping Missy."

Kenshin looked at Kaoru and raised an eyebrow, "Missy?"

"Sanosuke's always called me that, just ignore him."

"So your name's Kenshin huh, what's your last name?" Sanosuke asked

"Himura, Kenshin Himura."

"Himura huh? Are you related to Battousai?"

Kenshin chuckled, "Well... I believe he was my so many times great grandfather, that he was."

"Cool, so are you staying for movies tonight?"

"Huh?"

"We all get together every weekend and watch scary movies and eat junk food, it's a lot of fun." Misao explained

"Of course he is, Kenshin's staying here now, Misao."

"He's going to live here! Kaoru, you just met the guy!"

"I know but he's so sweet and kind, he's no trouble and besides he helped me out and I owe him."

"How do you know he's not a vampire or something in disguise!"

Everyone looked at Kenshin and he promptly gave a pathetic "Oro?"

They busted up laughing and Misao shook her head, "Ok, I was wrong, but I warn you right now, Himura, if you as much as touch Kaoru I'm going hit you so hard that your ancestors will feel it! Got it?"

Kenshin smiled and held up his hands, "Got it, Miss Misao."

"That's good and all but I'm starving, when are you going to start dinner, Kaoru?" Yahiko asked

"Soon, Yahiko, I need to figure out something to fix first."

"I can cook dinner for you, Miss Kaoru, that I can."

"You don't have to, Kenshin, I can..."

"Now, now, it's the least I can do, you've shown me great kindness and given me a place to stay so I'm more than happy to do a few chores for you, Miss Kaoru, that I am. Fixing dinner is no trouble at all, that it isn't."

Kaoru smiled and pointed down the hall, "If you insist, the kitchen's that way."

"Thank you, dinner should be ready shortly, that it should. It was nice meeting you Miss Misao, Sanosuke, Yahiko."

Kenshin went down the hall after a polite bow, not noticing the shocked expression on the others' faces as Kaoru giggled at them.

**Thanks for the reviews gang, I'm glad you like it so far. I want to thank ICE SAKURA for the idea, I'm having a lot fun with it so far. Any ways, the next chapter's in the works and I'll have it up soon, until then, byebye.**


	3. Pranks

**A New Battle**

**Chapter 3 - Pranks**

After dinner everyone headed into the den and Sanosuke put in a movie, getting a groan from Misao when she saw it was a horror movie. Throughout the course of the evening they watched several movies including 'Nightmare On Elm Street,' 'Friday The 13th,' and 'Event Horizon.' By that time the girls (and Yahiko) were scared stiff and they made Sanosuke put on 'Scary Movie 3,' everyone cracking up during the entire movie. After about four hours they all got tired and decided to head off to bed, saying goodnight to each other before heading off to their rooms.

Kenshin smiled as he sat against the wall, he couldn't believe how much fun he'd just had, he hadn't had that much fun since he was a kid and he really enjoyed it. He had always like scary movies so it didn't bother him when Freddy and Jason started hacking people up, he particularly enjoyed it when Kaoru got scared and decided to seek 'protection' from him by burying her face into his shoulder. He smiled, she really was a sweet girl and he was really starting to like her, but he had kept his thoughts to himself, knowing full well that he shouldn't make any moves on her this soon, he'd just met her after all. Even so, he couldn't help but feel a small twinge of desire for her as she cuddled up to him during the movies, her actions were innocent but they sent his senses reeling, causing him to completely ignore the movie for awhile.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a tap on his door, he answered it and smiled at his visitor, "Oh, Sano, what can I do for you?"

"Let me in, I need to talk to you."

Kenshin stepped aside and let him enter the room before shutting the door and eyeing him with a bit of concern, "Is anything wrong?"

"No, no, I want you to help me pull a prank."

"A prank? I'm afraid I'm not very good at pranks, that I'm not."

"Oh come on, I can teach you."

"I don't know, Sano, why ask me, why not ask Yahiko to help you?"

"Because I want to get him too, it'll be a blast, come on, man, you gotta help me out!"

Kenshin smiled, "You're going to hurt me if I don't, aren't you?"

"You got it, buddy, so what do you say... help or a lump?"

Kenshin chuckled as Sanosuke playfully cracked his knuckles, finally giving in, "Ok, what do you want to do?"

"Ok here's the plan, we can put on some disguises and get a couple of swords and scare the pants off of the girls and Yahiko."

"What kind of disguises?"

"We can dress up like some of the guys from the movie, you can be... Freddy and I'll be Jason."

"Why do I have to be Freddy, Sano?"

"I don't know... you look kind of sadistic like Freddy."

Kenshin laughed, "I'm not sure about that, that I'm not. Besides, I don't believe we have the necessary materials here to make a convincing disguise for either villain, that I don't."

"Well... what do you think we should do, then?"

"I don't know, I've only pulled a couple of pranks in my life, I'm not very good at it, that I'm not. We could... dress up like ninjas or something."

"Hey! You can put on an old gi and a hakama and get a sword and pretend to be Battousai!"

Kenshin arched an eyebrow at that, "Sano... Battousai has been dead for about a hundred years, I think Miss Kaoru and the others will know it's me, that I do. Besides, I don't think I could pull off the evil manslayer part, that I don't."

"You're no fun, how about this then, we hide in their closets and make noises to get their attention and wait for them to check it out."

Kenshin shook his head, Sanosuke was about as bad at pranks as he was. He scratched his chin thoughtfully for a moment then an idea came to him, "I have an idea, that I do, come on, Sano."

Sanosuke followed him down the hall and they pressed their ears against Kaoru's door to hear her and Misao still up and chatting, "Do you really think this will work, Kaoru?"

"It should, let's go get the candles and get started."

Kenshin and Sanosuke quickly moved around the corner and watched as the girls headed off down the hall before hurrying into the room. They looked to the floor and saw a Ouija board, then Kenshin pointed to the closet, "You had a good start on the closet idea, that you did, let's hide in there until they start the seance and then..."

"Oh I get it," Sanosuke interrupted, "we wait until they start their hocus pocus and then start talking to them!"

"Right, oh, here they come, hurry Sano."

Kenshin waited for Sanosuke to enter the closet before he shut the door and started to leave the room, but before he could get very far Sanosuke grabbed him and pulled him into the closet with him, "No you don't, you're doing this with me, red!"

"Oro? But... I really don't want to be a part of this, Sano, that I don't."

"Oh shut up, you're in too deep to back out now, so just be quiet and go along with it."

Kenshin sighed, _"How did I get myself into this?"_

The girls came back into the room and set up the candles, not noticing the two sets of eyes watching them from a crack in the closet door as they did so. They lit the candles and sat down opposite of each other near the board before Misao giggled, "I can't believe we're actually going to do this."

"I know but I've heard it's really fun so let's just give it a shot."

They took a deep breath to calm their excitement before placing their fingers on the glass, Misao being the first one to break the silence, "Is there a spirit here?"

Sanosuke and Kenshin watched as the girls read the answer, 'yes' then Kaoru asked, "Are you a good spirit?"

This time the board said 'no' and the girls looked wide eyed at each other before they continued, "Do you want to hurt us?" Misao asked quietly

The board read 'yes' and Kaoru decided to ask, "What is your name?"

The glass started to spell out a word and the girls read out loud as it moved across the board, "B... A... T... T... O... U... S... A... I..."

Kaoru looked to Misao, her voice shaking as she asked, "Did we read that right?"

"Yeah, it said 'Battousai!' Do you think it's for real!"

"I don't know, ask it something else."

Misao thought for a minute and smiled, "I know a question that only Battousai would know the answer to."

"What?"

"Watch this... who was the traitor of the Choshu Clan?"

The glass started to move again and they read the letters out loud, "I... I... S... U... K... A..."

They moved their hands off of the glass and Kaoru glared at Misao, "Iisuka? Did you do that, Misao!"

"No, it did it itself! I didn't even know the answer, I thought Iisuka was the field chief that committed suicide!"

"That's what I thought but... I guess we were wrong... should we stop now?"

"No, let's keep going, you ask him something this time."

"Ok."

They carefully put their hands back onto the glass before Kaoru took a breath to calm herself, "Are you evil?"

The board said 'no' and Kaoru smiled before she asked, "Are you really going to hurt us?"

Again the board read 'no' and Kaoru sighed, "Why did you say that you wanted to hurt us?"

The board started to spell something and they read aloud to each other, "I... W... A... S... M... E... S... S... I... N... G... W... I... T... H... Y... O... U..."

"He was messing with us! That's wrong! Let me ask something."

"Go ahead, Misao."

Misao let out a breath and asked, "Are you a vampire?"

Kaoru raised an eyebrow but watched with wide eyes as the board read, 'yes.'

Misao looked to Kaoru and smiled evilly, "Do you know Kaoru?"

The board said 'yes' and Misao smiled, chuckling softly to herself. Kaoru rolled her eyes and asked, "Why are you here, Battousai?"

They read out loud as the board started to spell again, their eyes going wide with fear as they started to understand the message, "T... O... M... A... K... E... Y... O... U... O... N... E... O... F... U... S..."

The girls looked at each other with fear and Sanosuke tapped Kenshin, "Now."

Sanosuke slapped the door and the girls screamed, looking around with fright, "Let's put this away!"

"Yeah, I think that's enough for tonight!"

Kaoru put the board away and sighed, still looking around the room, "That was scary..."

"I know, do you really think a vampire's after you?"

"I... don't know! I think you were just messing with me, Misao."

"I wasn't doing it! I don't even know how to spell 'Battousai' on a normal basis."

Kaoru considered that fact, Misao wasn't the best speller in the world and it would be nearly impossible for her to spell 'Battousai' without some help and she certainly hadn't been moving the glass. In the closet, Sanosuke giggled and tapped Kenshin again, "Say something."

"What?"

"I don't know... call out to Missy."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes!"

Kenshin sighed, "I really don't want to, Sano, that I don't, you do it!"

"Oh fine, you wuss!"

Sanosuke lightly hit Kenshin in the head and softly cleared his throat before whispering, "Kaoru..."

The girls looked around and Misao jumped up, putting up her hands as if she were about to fight, "Did you say that?"

"No, I thought you did..."

Kenshin smiled and Sanosuke chuckled before he repeated, "Kaoru..."

The girls screamed and grabbed onto each other, trying to find the source of the calling, "Do you think... it's one of the guys..."

"I don't think so, Misao... I don't think Kenshin or Sanosuke would do this..."

Sanosuke nudged Kenshin and put his hands around his mouth to amplify what he was saying, changing his voice to sound like Dracula from an old movie he'd seen, "Kaoru... I've come for you, Kaoru... join us..."

Kenshin started giggling and Sanosuke pushed his shoulder to hush him up as they watched the girls freak out, "I think we should go get Himura!"

"Why, what can Kenshin do?"

"Battousai's his ancestor, maybe he can do something about him!"

"I don't think Kenshin would believe us, Misao, I don't want him to think that I'm crazy."

"You're willing to let the ghost of a dead manslayer slash vampire come and turn you into the princess of darkness just because you don't want his descendant to think you're nuts!"

"Basically... yes..."

"KAORU!"

The guys chuckled, almost unable to contain themselves as Misao hit Kaoru in the arm, "What do we do then?"

"I... I don't know..."

Kenshin chuckled at the look on Kaoru's face, she was cute when she was scared then all of the sudden he felt a tickling in his nose and tried to keep himself from sneezing. Sanosuke caught this and nudged him, "Don't sneeze, Kenshin."

"I'm trying... not to... that I... that I... am... ACHUUU!"

Kenshin accidentally let out the sneeze and the girls looked towards the closet, "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah I did, let's see what it was."

"Wait Kaoru, it might be Battousai!"

"Oh come on, Misao, we're probable just hearing things and I'm going to prove it."

They started walking to the closet and the guys panicked, "What do we do, Sano!"

"I don't know..."

Sanosuke suddenly looked up, seeing a couple of old Halloween masks on the top shelf, "Hey Kenshin, put this on."

Kenshin grinned and slipped the mask on, trying to hold back his laughter as the girls continued to come toward the closet, "Duck down, Sano, wait for them to come in."

"Got ya."

The ducked down on either side of the door, hiding behind some clothes just as Kaoru and Misao poked their heads inside, "I know I heard something in here, Kaoru."

"Well there's nothing in here except my clothes. See Misao, you were worried for nothing."

Kaoru stepped inside and made Misao go with her to prove her point, "See there? There's nothing to worry about."

Misao's eyes suddenly went wide and Kaoru cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow at her hysterical friend, "What's wrong?"

"B... B... B.. Behind... you..."

Before Kaoru could do anything she felt a strong hand grab her shoulder as someone growled, "Kaoru!"

Both girls screamed and Misao literally jumped out of the closet when someone grabbed her shoulder. Kaoru's training decided to kick in and she instinctively elbowed her attacker in the ribs before flipping him over her shoulder and onto the ground, holding his wrist at an angle to hold him still as she got ready to attack. She brought her fist up to hit the intruder but he held up his free hand and laughed, "Wait! It's me, Miss Kaoru, that it is!"

"K... Kenshin?"

She reached down and pulled off the mask, revealing a smiling Kenshin as he waved at her, "Hello Miss Kaoru, you look nice this evening, that you do."

"Where's the other guy?" Misao asked

Sanosuke came out of the closet and pointed at the injured Kenshin, laughing loudly at his fallen comrade, "You... got your butt kicked by a girl, man... you're pitiful!"

"Well, I'm not really a fighter, Sano, that I'm not."

Kaoru frowned and helped Kenshin up before hitting him in the chest with her fist, "Kenshin, you jerk! It was you two, wasn't it!"

"Yeah it was... you should've seen... the look on your face, Missy..." Sanosuke sputtered out between laughs

Misao growled at them, "How long were you in there!"

"The whole time, we figured we could spook ya and it worked out perfectly! It was hilarious!"

"Maybe for you, Sano, but I'm in a lot of pain now, that I am."

"It serves you right, Himura! How could you!"

"I'm sorry ladies, that I am, I was going to leave but Sano forced me to stay with him, that he did."

"You two are creeps! But don't worry we'll get you back!"

"Misao's right, we'll get you eventually, it was kind of funny though now that I think about it." Kaoru giggled

Kenshin smiled and held out his hand to her, "Do you forgive us?"

Kaoru smiled and shook his hand playfully, "Yeah, I guess so, this is your first offense so I'll let you off easy, Kenshin and as for you, Sanosuke, I owe you big time! You ready Misao?"

"Ready."

The girls picked up their pillows and started hitting Kenshin and Sanosuke with them as they ran out of the room and down the hall, saying goodnight as they rounded different corners to hide in their rooms. Just as Kenshin reached his door he felt a hard hit to the head and laughed, "I'm sorry, Miss Kaoru, that I am."

"You will be, you jerk! That was mean!"

"I'm sorry, that I am! I didn't mean to scare you that badly, I'll make it up to you somehow, though, that I will."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die and I already have a cross so I guess I can't really back out of it, that I can't."

Kaoru giggled when he pointed to his scar and she pushed him into his room, "Go to bed, you jerk, goodnight."

"Goodnight Miss Kaoru."

Kaoru shut the door and left to help Misao, not noticing the smile Kenshin had on his face as he rested against the wall, "That was fun, that it was."

He suddenly felt a strong presence outside his door and he quickly got up and grabbed his dagger before poking his head outside to look around. He was about to go back in when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, if he didn't know any better, he'd say that he just saw someone jump over the ten foot tall gate and out of the dojo.

The next morning Kenshin woke up and stretched, looking at his alarm clock with a smile, "I guess I should start breakfast, that I should."

He quickly brushed his hair and put it up into its usual ponytail before stepped outside but just as he opened the door a bucket of ice cold water dumped on top of his head, causing him to cry out and jump back, "COLD! IT'S VERY COLD, THAT IT IS."

He heard giggling and looked around the corner to see a laughing Misao and Kaoru, "Got ya, Himura!"

"Yeah, that'll teach you to pull pranks on us."

The girls left down the hall and Kenshin heard someone come up beside of him He looked over and smiling at a slightly angry, equally wet Sanouske, "They got you too, huh, Sano?"

"Yep, I guess that what we get for pulling a prank."

"I agree, that I do, but who knows, maybe next time we can get them even better, that we can."

"Next time?"

"Yes, I had fun last night, that I did, but next time, no hiding in the closet."

Sanosuke smiled and patted Kenshin on the shoulder, "Deal."


	4. Gaiyo

**A New Battle**

**Chapter 4 - Gaiyo**

A couple of days later everyone forgot about the pranking and just went about their daily routine as usual, Misao and Sanosuke had gone to town to see a friend in the hospital while Kaoru and Yahiko practiced. After they finished with their workout Yahiko decided to go see his girlfriend, leaving Kaoru and Kenshin alone in the dojo. Kaoru smiled as she watched him leave, he really liked that girl of his, Tsubame, and she wondered just how far they would go, maybe they would still be together in high school.

Kaoru changed out of her training clothes and put on an old T-shirt and a pair of shorts, looking around to see if she could find Kenshin, she hadn't seen him since breakfast and she was starting to worry about him. She heard a soft sound coming from the laundry room and she poked her head inside, smiling at the sight before her. Kenshin was standing at the counter, neatly folding the laundry as he sang softly to himself, apparently lost in his own thoughts. She listened to him sing and sighed, he had a mesmerizing voice, it seemed to just draw you in and make you want to go to sleep, it was soft and soothing with a slight edge to it. Kenshin suddenly stopped and chuckled slightly, "Are you going to talk to me, Miss Kaoru?"

"How did you know I was here?"

"I sensed you, that I did."

Kaoru went and stood beside him, smiling as she watched his hands quickly fold shirts, "You have pretty good senses, are you a martial artist?"

"Well... kind of, I guess."

"What do you train in?"

"I finished my training a couple of years ago, that I did, I just practice once in awhile now, that I do."

"What do you do?"

"I'd really rather not say, if that's alright, Miss Kaoru."

"That's fine, and by the way, you really don't have to do the laundry, I was just kidding when I said that."

Kenshin smiled, "It's alright, Miss Kaoru, that it is, I kind of enjoy doing the laundry, that I do, it relaxes me for some reason. And besides, I don't feel comfortable sitting around someone else's home being a bum and doing nothing for my host in return, that I don't."

Kaoru giggled, "You're so old fashioned, you're like an old warrior or something."

"How so, Miss Kaoru?"

"Well... you're polite, soft spoken, you have battle scars, you don't like to talk about your skills, and you enjoy doing chores. You remind me of a samurai I saw in an old movie about the Meiji era, he was just like you."

"Was he?" he asked smiling, not looking up from his folding.

Kaoru smiled and sat on the counter next to him, "Yeah, he was a kindly old wanderer like you and he would beat up thugs and robbers when they tried to hurt someone. I think he was trying to repent for the lives he took during a war or something like that, he said that he took a lot of lives at a battle on some kind of town during that time... but I can't think of which war it was they were talking about."

"It must've been about the Revolution."

"The revolution?"

"Yes, the Meiji restoration, a.k.a. 'The Revolution,' was back during the 1800s, it started in 1863 and ended in 1869 when the Imperialists finally managed to overthrow the Shogunate and place Emperor Meiji on the thrown. The battle that they were talking about was Toba/fushimi most likely, that it was."

"Toba/fushimi?"

"Yes, it was the first, and one of the bloodiest battles during the Boshin Wars. It was where the Choshu, Tosha, and Satsuma clans fought against the Bakufu and forced the Shogunate's armies out of the towns of Toba as well as Fushimi."

"The Boshin Wars?"

"It's sometimes referred to as the 'Restoration Wars,' it was a series of different battles and rebellions to 'capture' areas that were still under the Shogunate's control as well as to suppress certain areas that were still loyal to the Shogunate, such as Aizu. It came to an end at the battle of Hakodate in 1869 when the naval units in Hokkaido surrendered."

Kaoru flashed a smile and patted his shoulder affectionately, "My, you certainly know your history, Kenshin."

Kenshin flushed, "Well... my parents used to tell me stories about Battousai and I would ask silly questions and I just... learned over the years, that's all, I'm not really that smart, that I'm not."

"You're kidding! I had a final on that stuff about a year ago and I've totally forgotten it, it's almost like you were there!"

Kenshin laughed at that, "I'd be awfully old if that were true, Miss Kaoru, that I would."

"Yeah, you'd be a walking mummy."

They laughed and Kenshin handed her a stack of clothes, "I believe these are yours, Miss Kaoru."

"They are, thanks Kenshin, hey listen, do you want to run to town with me on an errand?"

"Sure, just let me put these clothes away and we'll go, that we will."

"Great."

Kaoru quickly put her clothes away, being careful not to mess them up before running out to meet Kenshin at the gate, "Ready?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Let's roll then."

Kaoru locked the gate and they headed off into town. Over the course of the afternoon, Kaoru drug Kenshin through several stores until she found what she was looking for and by the time they'd finished she had ended up with about three things she didn't really need. As they were heading back to the dojo Kaoru checked her watch and sighed, "Sorry Kenshin, I didn't mean to keep us out all day, do you just want to order out for dinner?"

"Oh no, I can fix something quickly, that I can, it's no problem, I've cooked later then this, that I have."

Kaoru smiled and unconsciously moved a little closer to him as a cold wind came up, not noticing his smile as she did so. About a block from the dojo Kenshin suddenly stopped, getting Kaoru to glance around, "What's wrong Kenshin?"

"Someone's following us, that they are."

He said it loud enough so that the said person could show themselves and sure enough, a man stepped out from behind a tree and smiled brightly at Kenshin, "I should've guessed that you would sense me, it's been awhile, Kenshin."

The man was about six feet tall and had shoulder length black hair and strange blue eyes as a scar ran along the length of his jaw on the right side of his face. Kenshin apparently recognized him and smiled, "Gaiyo, it has been awhile, that it has, how have you been?"

"Pretty good, I'm just more bored than anything. When I saw you walking down the street I about tripped over an attractive young woman while I was trying to see if I were seeing things or not."

Kenshin laughed, "Serves you right, that it does."

"Who's your friend, Kenshin?"

"Oh, this is my friend, Miss Kaoru."

Kaoru smiled and bowed slightly, "Hello there, nice to meet you, um..."

He smiled brightly at her, "I am Gaiyo Hishatakemi, it is an honor to meet such a pretty young woman."

He took her hand and kissed it, getting a nice flush from Kaoru, "Um... thanks, so how do you know Kenshin?"

"Gaiyo and I have known each other for several years, that we have, I met him when I was a teenager and we've been friends ever since, that we have. The last time I saw him was... what, five years ago?"

"I believe so. So tell me, Kaoru, why is a lovely young lady, such as yourself, hanging around with a street rat like Kenshin here?"

Kaoru giggled at the dirty look Kenshin shot at his friend but answered just the same, "I keep him because he does the laundry."

"Really? You wouldn't mind coming over and doing mine would you, Kenshin?"

"Gaiyo, I love you like a brother, that I do, but I wouldn't touch your underwear if my life depended on it, that I wouldn't."

They all laughed and Gaiyo slapped his shoulder playfully, "You haven't changed a bit my friend, and I hate to depart so soon, however, it is getting late and I have to get home. Perhaps you and I can get together sometime and get a drink while we reminisce about the past for old times sake."

"I'd like that, that I would."

"I'll see you later then, it was nice meeting you, Kaoru."

"You too."

Gaiyo walked off and Kenshin chuckled, "I never thought I'd see him again, that I didn't."

"Because of wandering around?"

"Yes, I'm glad I ran into him though, that I am, it's good to see a familiar face once in awhile, that it is."

Kenshin caught the glare that Kaoru was giving him and quickly smiled, "But I always enjoy seeing you, that I do, Miss Kaoru."

Kaoru smiled and hugged him, "Thanks, but let's get home now, I really don't want to be out when the vampires start to show up."

Kenshin smiled gently, "Don't worry, Miss Kaoru, I'll protect you, that I will, you have nothing to fear."

"Thanks, but still I'd like to get home just one night without being mugged, grabbed or bitten by something."

Kenshin laughed, "So I take it that you would hurt me if I locked you out?"

"Definitely, and besides I have the key!"

Kaoru stuck her tongue out at him just as they reached the gate and she unlocked it, quickly running inside and locking Kenshin out, "Let me in, Miss Kaoru."

"Nope, I forgot how to unlock the door."

Kenshin heard her giggle and reached up into his hair, "Lock me out will she?"

He pulled some kind of hair pin out of his ponytail and easily picked the lock open before he went inside and locked it back, looking around for Kaoru as he did so. He spotted her heading into her room and smiled evilly to himself, "I know I shouldn't but I feel a mean streak coming on, that I do."

Kenshin waited outside her door and just as she was about to come out he grabbed the handle and held it tightly as Kaoru jerked against him to open the door, "What the... Kenshin is that you?"

"No, it's the Boogy man, that it is."

"Kenshin let me out!"

"Why? You seem to be alright in there, that you do."

"Kenshin Himura! Let me out of here or I'll tell everyone about what kind of boxers you wear!"

"Good enough."

Kenshin suddenly turned loose of the door and Kaoru, not expecting the sudden release, flew out and was caught by Kenshin before she could hit the floor. Kaoru stood up and giggled, "You jerk, how'd you get in?"

"I learned how to pick locks when I was younger, that I did."

Kaoru smiled, "Ok, I guess we're even now, so do you want to help me fix dinner?"

"Sure."

They started down the hall but Kenshin paused when he sensed a familiar, evil presence. He turned around and looked over the courtyard with cautious eyes before Kaoru tapped him on the shoulder, catching his attention, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing Miss Kaoru, I just thought I heard something, that I did."

Kenshin took one more glance at the yard before following Kaoru into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

As they were cooking Yahiko came home, as did Misao and Sanosuke and they caught up on the days events until Kenshin and Kaoru came out with dinner. After they were finished they all decided to watch one of the numerous talk shows and laughed at the different mishaps before heading off to bed, saying goodnight to Misao and Sanosuke as they headed home for the evening. Kenshin was about to turn in when he heard a tap on his door, he opened it and was surprised to see Gaiyo there, "Gaiyo? What're you doing..."

Gaiyo cut him off short by placing a hand to his lips, "Shh! I need your help, come with me."

Kenshin nodded and shut the door before following Gaiyo out of the dojo and down the street. They went to an ally and Gaiyo paused for a moment, "I warn you, it's not pretty, he's gotten worse."

Kenshin nodded and looked to the ground, gasping when he saw what Gaiyo was talking about. A young girl lay on the ground, covered in blood, her clothes ripped to shreds and two punctures in her neck, "Are you sure it was him, Gaiyo?"

"Yes, he came here to Tokyo about a week ago and he's been killing ever since then. He's becoming more and more brutal with each killing, Kenshin, we've got to stop him before he goes too far."

"Has he converted anyone?"

"Not lately, the last person I heard of being transformed was a young man about a month ago in Kyoto, I don't know of any conversions here just yet."

"How long have you been investigating here?"

"About a year, I was sent here to keep an eye on the vampires running about but none of them have done anything like this. The worst any of them do is bite a kid once in awhile but they don't hurt them and their victims don't remember anything afterwards. This one though, he seems to enjoy killing and there's more and more blood each time we find someone and what's worse is that he's taking advantage of his female victims while they're being bitten."

Kenshin winced slightly, "Damn, I thought that was him that night."

"What do you mean?"

"About a week ago I was heading home and I saw a vampire grab a girl and take her into an ally, I managed to save her but I wasn't sure if it was him or not but now I know for sure that it was him."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, he hurt her pretty badly and after seeing this I'm glad I stopped him from doing the same to Kaoru."

"Kaoru? The girl you were with today?"

"Yes, he attacked her but he didn't bite her, he was about to when I got to them. By the way, have you been sneaking around the dojo lately?"

"No, why?"

"I keep sensing a vampire and I also keep seeing someone sneaking around all over the place, mostly at night and when Kaoru and I are by ourselves."

"You'd better keep an eye on that girl of yours, Kenshin, if she's one that survived an attack then you know he'll come back to claim her, you remember how he works, don't you?"

"How could I forget? He tends to seek out and either destroy or convert anyone strong enough to evade him, and don't worry, I intend to keep a sharp eye on Kaoru."

"You'd better and be cautious going into town from now on, if he finds out that you're here all hell will break loose, he's been trying to destroy you for years."

"I'm aware of that, Gaiyo, but as long as he's here I cannot leave, especially knowing that he may be after Kaoru."

Gaiyo smiled, "You like her, don't you, Kenshin?"

"What?"

"I never thought I'd live to see the day that Kenshin Himura fell in love again, so that heart of yours isn't completely stone after all, is it, my friend?"

Kenshin gave him a harsh glare and looked to the ground, "You know that we can't get involved with anyone, and you know me, I've sworn off of women."

"Really? Then why is it that when I kissed her hand today you gave me a look that could kill?"

"Shut up!"

Gaiyo laughed, that was the response he expected, Kenshin had always gotten angry when you hit the nail on the head, "Back to serious matters, what do you plan to do about all these attacks?"

"I don't know, first we have to lure him out into the open and then find some way to kill him."

"How do we lure him out?"

"I don't know, but we need to find a way and quickly, we can't afford to let this go on."

**End of ch.4! I know, it's cheesy, but hey I'm trying. Any ways, ch. 5 will be up soon so read on gang!**


	5. Vampire Attack!

**A New Battle**

**Chapter 5 - Vampire Attack!**

The next couple of weeks seemed to fly by as Kenshin started to become part of the family, soon he, Sanosuke and Yahiko were teaming up to pull pranks on the girls. It soon became apparent that Kenshin was more than what he made himself seem to be, Kaoru had caught him off in the courtyard early one morning practicing with one of her swords and found that he had incredible skill with the blade. Once he saw her watching he apologized and said that he didn't want her to make fun of him of being a swordsman. Kaoru laughed it off and told him that he could practice whenever he liked, which got him to smile. Gaiyo had started hanging around the dojo as well, having many private conversations with Kenshin that lasted anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours before he would just leave. The others started to become a little suspicious of Kenshin's friend but he reassured them that he was no threat and he made Gaiyo talk with them whenever he came over and he soon earned their trust, after much flirting with Kaoru, of course.

One day while Kenshin was off doing the laundry, Misao, Yahiko, Sanosuke and Kaoru sat on the front porch and listened intently as Kaoru read the paper, "It seems like there have been more vampire attacks."

"More? How many this time?" Misao asked

"Just one today. It says here that all the victims in the past couple of weeks have been men, most convicted felons and well known robbers and although they weren't seriously injured they didn't remember anything about what happened except strange colored eyes."

"This is getting serious, that's like the twelfth attack these past two weeks, do you think it's the vampire that attacked you, Kaoru?" Yahiko asked

"I don't know, they said that these attacks aren't as brutal as some of the ones in the past couple of months but they say that the victims lost severe amounts of blood and had some had broken bones and severe cuts too, like they were fighting someone."

"Well whoever this vampire is, he's dangerous, and what if there's more than one of them?" Sanosuke asked

"I don't know, there's not really anything that we can do except stay inside and not go out after dark."

"Hey Kaoru."

They all looked up and smiled at Gaiyo as he came onto the porch, "Hey there, what brings you here?"

"I came to see Kenshin, if it's alright with my pretty lady Kaoru, that is."

Kaoru giggled, she was used to his flirtatious comments by now and knew that he meant nothing by them, "He's in the laundry room."

"Oh, putting him to good use for once, huh?"

They laughed and waited until he was down the hall before Yahiko asked, "How can you tell if someone's a vampire?"

"I read somewhere that they can blend in with us and retract their fangs at will so it will look like they don't have any. They say that most of them are mild-mannered and quiet, real shady characters, always off by themselves and they usually tend to speak only to certain people and go off somewhere late at night and don't come back until near morning. I also heard that most of them are really good at history and story telling because they most likely lived through that certain time period." Sanosuke explained

Misao looked around to see if anyone else was near before she whispered to the others, "Have you noticed how strange Himura has been acting lately?"

"What do you mean, Misao?" Kaoru asked

"Honestly... I think Himura's a vampire."

"What!" Everyone asked in complete shock

"You're crazy, Misao!"

"Yeah Weasel, I mean... come on, Kenshin a vampire? The guy's a total wuss and he gets beat up by girls on a daily basis. For goodness sake, the man says 'oro!'" Sanosuke complained

"I know but think about it, he's very polite, he's quiet and mild-mannered, he only hangs out with that guy Gaiyo and when he's around they go off by themselves to talk. And another thing, every time we ask him about his past he says 'I don't care to bring up my past, that I don't' and changes the subject. And last weekend I got up for some water around two in the morning and I saw him sneaking around the courtyard like he was stalking someone or something. I'm telling you, Himura's a blood sucker!"

Everyone looked to the ground and thought seriously for a moment, "You made some good points, Misao, but I really don't think that Kenshin's a vampire."

"Come on, Kaoru, the man's totally creepy at times, especially when he gives people the 'touch Kaoru and die' glare."

Kaoru flushed, "Kenshin doesn't give people the 'touch Kaoru and die' glare!"

"Sure he does, he likes you but that's not the point, the point is he's scary and he has way too many secrets. What kind of guy now a days goes around traveling around being a wanderer?"

"Yet another good point, but maybe that's just what he likes to do, you like to do strange things too, Misao."

"Yeah but I have a family, friends, a home, Himura has a duffle bag, a dagger and the clothes he's got on. Face it, Kaoru, your boyfriend's a vampire."

"That's enough, Misao! Kenshin is no such thing!"

"I'm not a what, Miss Kaoru?"

They all turned around with a start to see Kenshin and Gaiyo standing next to them, getting a nervous chuckle from Misao as she said, "We were... saying that you're... really prissy."

Kenshin chuckled but Kaoru rolled her eyes, "Misao thinks that you're a vampire, Kenshin."

"KAORU!"

Kenshin and Gaiyo looked at one another before busting up laughing, "You actually think that I'm a vampire, Miss Misao? Why would you think such a thing?"

"Because you're creepy and strange! You know way too much about history! You sneak around at night! You're way too polite! Most of the time you're completely emotionless! And most of all, you're just down right evil sometimes when you pull pranks on people!"

Kenshin laughed again, "Come now, Miss Misao, true I am quite strange but I was raised by an Irish mother and a Japanese father, that I was, I can't help but be a little strange, that I can't. Yes, I know much about history, my several times great-grandfather was Battousai and I learned through stories about him and studying in school, as well. I am polite, but that's how I my mother raised me to be and she would turn over in her grave if I acted otherwise, that she would. And yes, I know I don't emotion very often, that I don't, but... I've been hurt emotionally so many times in the past that I just shut off whatever I had left, that I did, it's more of a habit than anything, that it is. And as for me being evil, my father and my friend Gaiyo over here taught me that being evil to your friends meant that you love them, except when you just want to be mean, that is."

"Ok, then why do you sneak around the dojo at night!"

"With all of these vampire attacks going on I stay up late to make certain that we don't have any unwanted guests, that I do, I would never forgive myself if I let a vampire get hold of any of you, that I most certainly wouldn't."

Misao huffed up, "Alright then, prove that you're not a vampire!"

Kenshin just stared at her and gave her a very pathetic "Oro?"

Everyone busted up laughing and Misao finally gave up, "Ok, I'm convinced, no vampire in the right mind would disgrace himself like that."

Kenshin chuckled and Gaiyo nudged him, "I need to leave, Kenshin, I'll see you all later."

"I'll walk you out, Gaiyo, that I will."

Kenshin and Gaiyo headed to the gate, looking back to make sure the others weren't around before Kenshin asked, "Have you found him yet?"

"No, he's come out once or twice but none of us have been able to catch him, he's starting to recognize our tactics and he's found more ways around us then we can think of. You wouldn't happen to have a plan would you, Kenshin?"

"No, but I'll sleep on it and get back to you, just continue with our original plan until then."

"Kenshin! Kaoru needs help!"

"I'm coming Yahiko, that I am! I'll see you later, Gaiyo, let me know the second you hear anything at all."

"I will, see you later, my friend."

Gaiyo left the dojo and Kenshin went to help Kaoru and the others, not noticing the dark figure lurking within the shadows of the trees.

Later that night Kenshin awoke around midnight and quickly checked the others to make sure they were asleep before doing a run through of the dojo to make sure that no one unwanted was there, "Time to meet up with Gaiyo."

He silently made his way to the door, unlocking the gate and heading off down the street, not noticing the young set of eyes as they watched him leave, "Misao was right, Kenshin does sneak off at night, I'm going to see what he's up to."

Yahiko quietly left the dojo and looked around for Kenshin, finding him near the bridge talking with Gaiyo. He crept up behind the tree nearby and strained to hear, "He's somewhere in the Hotakikai area, we just found one of his victims there."

"Great, another one, that vampire's starting to be a real pain in the ass. Let's get over there and set up the trap."

Gaiyo nodded at Kenshin's order and they took off down the road with unreal speed. Yahiko took off after them but he was unable to keep up with them and lost them around a corner, "Dang they're fast! I wonder where they went... oh well... I guess I can just head back to the dojo."

Yahiko made his way back down the street, keeping his eyes and ears open for Kenshin or the vampire he was talking about. When he was about half way to the dojo he saw a man running into an ally, apparently trying to get away from someone... or something. He heard the man scream and he ran to the entrance of the ally to help him but he froze in place as he watched the scene before him, fear starting to creep up his spine as he looked on with wide eyes. The man was backed up against the wall with a shorter man standing in front of him. Yahiko couldn't see either man's face very well but he could tell that the one against the wall was terrified, his voice shaking with fear as he spoke to his attacker, "Please... don't... don't kill me..."

The man in front of him chuckled darkly, his voice very deep and husky as he spoke almost soothingly to his target, "I'm not going to kill you, I'm just going to bite you."

He tried to run but the smaller, yet surprisingly, stronger man caught him by the arm and pushed him hard into the wall, "Let me go, vampire!"

The vampire was silent for a moment before he waved a hand in front of his victim's face, whispering a single word, "Sleep."

The man went limp and fell forward but the vampire caught him and grabbed his hair, jerking his head back to where he could see his neck. The vampire then leaned down and opened his mouth, allowing Yahiko to catch a glimpse of his long fangs before he sunk them into the man's neck. Yahiko's eyes continued to widen in fear as he took an unconscious step back, causing a twig to snap loudly in the dead silence of the night. The vampire apparently heard him and snapped his head up before turning around to meet the boy's startled, wide eyes, his own going wide slightly when he realized he'd been caught in the act.

Yahiko could only stare at the vampire, his body unable to move as he whispered his name, "K... K... Ken... shin..."

**So what do you think? Did I surprise you? That's what I was aiming for in this one, I got my proof reader with it and she hit me for it, hehe. Any ways, I'll update soon so stay with me, if you can handle my insanity, that is :).**


	6. Erasing Memories

**A New Battle**

**Chapter 6 - Erasing Memories**

Yahiko could only stare at the vampire, his body unable to move as he whispered his name, "K... K... Ken... shin..."

Kenshin's eyes went wide and he dropped the unconscious man on the ground before wiping the blood away from his mouth, "Yahiko... this isn't what it looks like."

Yahiko felt anger mix with fear as he stared at the man in front of him, he just couldn't believe it, Kenshin really was a vampire and he had just bitten someone! Kenshin stepped towards him and he took a step back, getting ready to retreat, "Yahiko, don't run, just listen to me..."

"Misao was right... you are a vampire!"

"Yahiko, wait..."

Yahiko made a dead sprint down the road, running faster when he felt Kenshin catching up to him. It didn't take long before Yahiko felt a strong hand grasp his arm and pull him back, he punched out at his attacker and hit him in the stomach, but Kenshin didn't even blink when the boy's fist made contact with his stomach, he simply grabbed hold of his arms and picked him up off of the ground to look him in the eyes, "Yahiko, stop, just listen to me."

"Why, so you can tell me that you weren't biting that guy! That you were just 'talking' to him! I'm not listening to anything you say, now let me go!"

"What's going on here, Kenshin?"

They both looked over and Yahiko was surprised to see Gaiyo standing there, "Gaiyo! Kenshin's a vampire!"

"I know, Yahiko, and apparently... now so do you."

"Y... you know? How?"

"I'm a vampire myself, Yahiko, that's how I met Kenshin, we were both out feeding one night and we ran into each other and became friends."

Yahiko turned pale and started struggling harder against Kenshin's strong grip, "I can't believe this! You got us to trust you and then you turn out to be a blood sucker! Kenshin you're a total creep!"

"Yahiko, just listen to me and I'll explain what's going on."

Yahiko stopped struggling and looked into Kenshin's eyes, gasping slightly when he saw that they were a piercing amber color. He swallowed the lump in his throat and whispered, "Will you at least put me down?"

"You're not gonna run are you?"

"No."

Kenshin set him down and Yahiko let out the breath he was holding, looking up at the two vampires with cautious eyes, "Ok, start explaining!"

Kenshin was the first one to answer, "You see, there are two different types of vampires, there's the normal ones that just bite once in awhile to stay alive, like me and Gaiyo here, and then there's the ones we call the Rogues. These are the ones who go around biting people because they like to and kill them after words just because they can and because they enjoy the blood."

"So you two are 'good' vampires?"

"I guess you could say that, yes. There's a special group of us that go around looking for Rouge Vampires and stop them before they can kill too many people."

"Don't you guys kill?"

"No," Gaiyo answered, "We kill other vampires, of course, but we don't kill humans unless we no other choice. Kenshin and I bite because we have to, we don't enjoy it, well... Kenshin doesn't, any ways."

Kenshin turned his icy glare on his friend, his voice low and threatening, "If you turn into a Rogue, I swear I'll be your worst nightmare, Gaiyo."

"I know, I know, I was kidding but I guess you're right, now is not the time to be joking around."

Yahiko felt really uncomfortable around the two arguing vampires, he just wanted to find out what he wanted to know and leave, "So are you the ones who have been causing all of the attacks in the past couple of weeks?"

Kenshin sighed, "Yes, Yahiko, we are. Gaiyo's bitten a couple but mostly it's been me doing the biting. Don't worry, they live and they don't remember what happened to them, they wake up a little sore but that's about it."

"What about the guys who had broken arms and stuff?"

"They were the ones who fought, I forgot about my strength and I accidentally hurt them, I didn't mean to."

"How can you not know your own strength!"

"That's one of the bad things about being a vampire, you have unusual strength and when you're biting someone they tend to against you and sometimes you forget about how strong you are compared to your victim and you... hurt them."

"Ok, answer me this, why have you been attacking all of these people? I doubt you need to bite someone every night!"

"True, I can go a long time without biting someone, however, it's a tactic we're using to lure out one of the Rogues."

"What do you mean?"

Gaiyo stepped up closer to Kenshin and started to explain, "There's a Rogue out there named Norihiko, he's one of the younger vampires but he's extremely dangerous. He comes from Kenshin's time and they have a... grudge against one another so they've been trying to kill each other for the past several years."

"But what does that have to do with you two biting people?"

"He enjoys blood and he can't stand another vampire in his territory, especially Kenshin. So we let him do most of the biting so his scent and ki will be around the area and hopefully Norihiko will sense it and come out into the open so we can eliminate him."

"So you bite people to tick this guy off and get him to come out and fight so you can kill him?"

"Basically, yes, we don't enjoy biting, well... at least Kenshin doesn't."

Kenshin shot his cold glare at his friend, his voice harsh and warning, "If you turn into a Rogue, I swear I will become your worst nightmare, Gaiyo."

"I know, I know, but I suppose you are right, now is not the time to be joking around."

Yahiko was becoming a little anxious, not comfortable about being around two arguing vampires, he cleared his throat to catch their attention, "Ok, so what're you gonna do if this doesn't lure this guy out?"

"Well... there is one other option but Kenshin won't let us do it."

"Don't go there, Gaiyo, that is not an option, now nor ever!"

"What do you mean, what option are you talking about, Kenshin?" Yahiko asked, thoroughly confused

Kenshin sighed, "Using a human as bait, particularly the one he's after but that isn't going to happen, I'm not going to put the girl in danger so we can catch this guy."

Gaiyo shook his head, "She wouldn't be in danger, Kenshin, you and I will be there to stop him the second he shows up..."

Kenshin interrupted him, "No! I won't bring Kaoru into this more than she already is."

"Kaoru? What does Kaoru have to do with this?" Yahiko asked

Gaiyo answered, "Kaoru is the one he's after, she's the only one to survive an attack from him and so he wants to turn her into a vampire because she's strong."

"So... Kenshin wasn't the one who attacked her?"

"No, Kenshin's the one who saved her and it's a good thing he was there at the time, if he hadn't stopped Norihiko that night then Kaoru would either be dead or a vampire by now."

"Is that why you're staying at the dojo?" Yahiko asked, turning to face Kenshin.

Kenshin nodded, "Yes, I'm staying until we can kill this freak then I'll leave and you'll never hear from me again, but until then you have to keep quiet and not tell anyone about any of this, understand?"

"Yeah, I understand."

Gaiyo smiled briefly before turning to Kenshin with a serious look in his eyes, "So now that we have that over with, what are we going to do about Yahiko?"

"What do you mean?" Kenshin asked

"We can't let him go around knowing our secret, you know how loyal he is, he'll eventually tell Kaoru everything."

Kenshin thought for a long moment then sighed almost sadly, "I know... I guess we'll just have to erase his memory, that's the only thing we can do."

Yahiko's eyes went wide at their words and fear started to creep into his stomach when he heard Kenshin's voice go deeper, "W... what do you mean..."

Before he could move Kenshin picked him up and wrapped an arm around his waist, holding him firmly against his chest. Yahiko struggled to get away but Kenshin easily held him without a problem, his voice soft and calming, "Yahiko... look at me."

"Why!"

"Just look at me."

Yahiko angrily lifted his head up to meet Kenshin's eyes, letting out a gasp when they started glowing faintly. All of the sudden he felt tired and his body started to go numb then he realized what Kenshin was doing and quickly turned his eyes away, "No! I won't let you do this!"

He felt rough, calloused fingers grasp his chin and lift his face up to meet Kenshin's bright gold eyes once more, holding him still as those eyes tried to hypnotize him into sleep. Yahiko managed to turn his head enough to bite Kenshin's thumb, drawing blood from the wound but, surprisingly, it didn't faze Kenshin at all. He didn't even blink as Yahiko jerked his head away and spit out some blood, he only let out a sigh, "Just stop struggling, Yahiko, you can't get away from me, just relax and let me do what I have to do.

"No way! I'm not going to give into you!"

Kenshin sighed, "Fine, be that way, just relax then, if you struggle or if you're tense then it'll hurt."

"What will hurt?"

Yahiko dared a look into his face and saw Kenshin leaning down towards him, opening his mouth slightly to reveal his wickedly sharp fangs. Yahiko finally understood what was going on and he struggled harder against his captor, swinging out blindly to try and get away. As he was swinging out his fingernails caught the side of Kenshin's neck, causing him to groan softly as blood trickled down his throat from the cuts created by the little boy's hands, "Yahiko... stop fighting."

"Go to hell, Kenshin!"

Yahiko bravely looked into his golden eyes, the tired feeling growing stronger but he still fought, getting a soft chuckle from Gaiyo as he did so, "I'm impressed by your strength, Yahiko, most grown men would've been out long by now but yet you're still conscious and fighting on top of it. You'd make an excellent vampire with that kind of will power, don't you think so, Kenshin?"

"He would, but that's not our intention tonight, Gaiyo, I'm only going to erase his memory, nothing more."

Yahiko's strength started to give out and his struggles became weaker, then he suddenly felt a hand running through his short hair and he glanced up to see that it was Kenshin's hand. It wasn't rough or meant to hurt him, it was meant to lull him to sleep and that touch, combined with the hypnotic powers of his eyes, was taking its toll on the little strength he had left. Yahiko's vision started to blur and his body began to go limp in the vampire's arms, yet he still tried to get away, although his struggles were no more than tiny shoves now, "Kenshin... let me... go..."

"I can't, just hold still and this will be over in a minute."

Kenshin started to lean down again and Yahiko put his face in the crook of his neck, trying one last time to avoid the inevitable. A hand grasped his hair and gently pulled his head back to reveal his neck to Kenshin as he leaned down towards his target. Yahiko felt fear start to overcome him and he did the only thing he could, "Kenshin... please don't... don't bite me..."

"Shh, it's alright, it'll be over in just a moment, then you won't remember anything about this."

Yahiko cringed slightly when he felt Kenshin's lips against his throat, his breath warm and tickling as he whispered, "This may sting a little, Yahiko."

"Huh... aww!"

Yahiko cried out when he felt Kenshin's fangs sink into the tender skin on his neck, feeling a slight stinging sensation coming from the bite as his vision began to cloud over. Kenshin pulled away a few moments later and licked the blood from his lips but Yahiko couldn't really see him or Gaiyo as he came up next to them, "How long will it take to take effect, Kenshin?"

"Not long, by morning he won't remember a thing about what happened tonight."

Yahiko groaned as his head started to swim, his body going limp, "I'm sorry, Yahiko..." was the last thing he heard before the darkness totally consumed him.

The next morning Yahiko woke up and rubbed his eyes, he had one heck of a headache and he felt like he'd been hit by a truck. He looked around and realized he was in his room, "What... happened..."

"Oh you're awake, you scared us there, Yahiko."

He looked up and smiled when he saw Kaoru beside of him, "Hey Kaoru... what happened? I fell horrible."

"Kenshin found you in the hallway this morning, you have quite a fever, apparently you were sleepwalking again."

"Sleepwalking? I haven't done that in a long time."

"I know, but I think it's from the fever, you go ahead and rest today, Kenshin and I will do the chores, ok?"

Yahiko smiled, "Thanks Kaoru."

Kaoru ruffled his hair and left the room before he looked up at the ceiling, he had a strange feeling that he needed to tell Kaoru something but he just couldn't remember what that something was. His thoughts were interrupted by a tap on his door then Kenshin poked his head in, smiling in his usual, cheerful way, "Hey there, are you feeling better?"

"Not really..."

"That's alright, that it is, Miss Kaoru and I will take care of the chores today, that we will, you just rest and get your strength back, ok?"

"I will."

"I'll be around the back doing laundry, that I will, just yell if you need me."

"I will, thanks Kenshin."

Kenshin smiled and shut the door, not noticing Yahiko raise an eyebrow at him as he left. For some reason he felt that Kenshin was different, something in the back of his mind told him that he shouldn't trust the smiling wanderer but sleep started to tug at him and he dismissed the thought with a yawn. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, unaware of the secret he carried in the back of his confused, fevered mind.

**Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter finished, I've had such horrible writer's block it's not even funny. Any ways, I'm going to try a lot harder to keep my mind on track and get this done for you guys, thanks for being patient with me.**


	7. Sparks Ignite

**A New Battle**

**Chapter 7 - "Sparks Ignite"**

A few days later Yahiko completely recovered from his 'illness' and was well enough to go and visit his girlfriend. Later that day he called Kaoru and told her that he was staying the night and she agreed to the idea, figuring it would do him good to get out for awhile. After she hung up the phone she went into the kitchen to fix herself a snack before dinner. She tried standing on her tiptoes to reach a plate on the top shelf but she was just too short to get it. She finally had to get the stool from the corner and stand up on it to reach the plate, and just as she was able to reach it Kenshin came in and arched an eyebrow at her, "What're you doing, Miss Kaoru?"

"Getting a plate, I was too short to get it so I had to get a stool."

Kenshin chuckled, "I would've gotten it for you if you'd asked me to, Miss Kaoru."

"I've got it, and besides I didn't want to bother you."

"You're no bother, that you're not, I just don't want you to fall, that I don't."

"Oh relax, Kenshin, I'm not going to... ah!"

As she was stepping off of the stool it flew out from under her and she fell towards the ground but Kenshin was next to her in a second and caught her in his strong arms, preventing her from falling, "Are you alright, Miss Kaoru?"

"Yeah, I'm o..." she raised her head to look at him, their closeness allowing their lips to meet briefly before they just looked at one another with slight shock, "I'm... I'm sorry... Kenshin."

"It's ok, that is it."

Kenshin set her back on the ground and she straightened herself up, a flush staining her cheeks as she smiled to hide her embarrassment, "Well, I guess you were right about me falling, next time I'll get you to do it and let you fall off of the stool."

He laughed, "All you need to do is ask me, I don't mind helping you, that I don't but..."

"But what?"

Kenshin smiled softly and ran his thumb over her bottom lip, his voice changing to a deeper tone as he leaned in to let his nose touch hers, "I really didn't mind you falling on me, that I didn't, let me know if you decide to fall again, I'd love to catch you again, that I would."

Before she could say anything he left the room, not noticing the smile that came to her lips as she watched him leave, _"He's so cute at times, and that kiss wasn't really that bad... wait! That wasn't a real kiss, it was an accident! Get a clue, Kaoru, even if you do like him there's no way that you can get his attention!"_

Kaoru looked into the mirror on the wall and let out a sigh, there was no way that Kenshin would go for her. She was short, tomboyish, and a lot younger than him, but... he did say that he didn't mind having to catch her and his eyes were so gentle when he said it. Kaoru smiled to herself as a plan started to form in her mind, she would get Kenshin's attention and she would have fun doing it. She quickly grabbed her purse and ran to where Kenshin was doing the laundry, "Hey Kenshin, I'm going to town, I'll be right back."

She started to head for the gate but she felt a large, rough hand grasp her wrist and pull her back, "Hold on, Miss Kaoru, I'll go with you, that I will."

"You don't have to, I just have to get something then I'll be right back."

"But it's not safe to go off by yourself, that it isn't."

"You can't come, Kenshin, and that's final!"

Kenshin looked at her for a long moment before he smiled playfully, "Are you going to meet a young man, Miss Kaoru?"

Kaoru flushed at the idea but decided to go along with it, "Yes, he's an old friend of mine and I happen to like him and I just wouldn't feel comfortable making moves on him while you're there."

Kenshin chuckled, "Alright, but be back before dark or I'll come and get you, that I will."

"Whether I'm done flirting or not, right?"

"Right."

"I'll be back long before dark, so don't worry."

Kaoru pulled her hand free and quickly left the dojo, letting out a sigh of relief before heading off into town. It took almost an hour for her to find everything she needed but she finally managed and started back towards the dojo. About a block from her house she checked her watch and groaned when she saw that it was almost four. She started to run and screeched around the corner, running into someone and dropping her things as she did so, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to run into you, I wasn't paying attention!" Kaoru apologized

The man simply smiled, "It's alright, I was dozing off myself, here let me help you."

He knelt down and helped her gather her things before he helped her up, "Why are you in such a rush?"

"I don't like to be out after dark."

"I see, would you like me to walk you home?"

Kaoru looked up at the man and gasped slightly when she saw his eyes, they were a striking silver and stood out sharply in the fading light. He had neck length black hair and the scar on his neck contrasted harshly against his pale skin but what caught her breath was his smile, it seemed to just draw her in and grasp her but his deep, accent filled voice snapped her out of it, "Miss?"

"Huh... oh, sorry, I spaced out, no thank you, I can get home from here."

"If that's what you wish, by the way, I'm Norihiko Shigenshi, and you are?"

"Kamiya Kaoru."

"It's an honor to meet you, Kaoru, tell me, are you busy later this evening?"

"Um... why?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner with me if you didn't already have plans."

"I'm sorry... I... I'm having a special night with my friend tonight, I hope you won't take offense if I decline."

"Not at all, I'll just catch you later when you're free of your... friend."

Norihiko kissed her hand and she flushed and pulled away from him, "Well... I'll think about it, I have to go now, sorry about running into you."

"Anytime you wish to run into me is fine by me, Kaoru."

"Thanks, well... bye Norihiko, it was nice to meet you, I'll see you later... maybe..."

Kaoru turned and took off down the road, not noticing the evil smile that came across Norihiko's face as he watched her leave, "Oh yes, you will definitely see me later, my pretty one, and this time you won't get away from me."

Kaoru quickly ran home and prepared dinner before heading off into her bedroom to change. She wanted something that was sexy but not too obvious, comfortable but not too casual, after about ten minutes she settled on a short blue tank top and a thigh-high skirt, leaving her hair up in its normal ponytail. She looked in the mirror and smiled, she looked nice but not too flashy... perfect. She heard Kenshin call out for her and she took a deep breath to steady herself _"This is it, Kaoru, there's no turning back now."_

She headed off into the kitchen and saw Kenshin there with a surprised look on his face as he looked at the nice dinner on the table, "What's all this, Miss Kaoru?"

"I thought that since you've been taking such good care of me that you deserved a good dinner, I hope you don't mind."

"No I..." Kenshin paused when he looked up and saw her, immediately taking note of the pleasant amount of perfectly shaped legs that were showing beneath her skirt and the small bit of naval revealed by her short top. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he met her eyes, finally finding his voice again, "I don't mind at all..."

Kaoru smiled, that wasn't quite the reaction she was hoping for but it would do for now, "Good, let's eat then before it gets cold and inedible."

Kenshin simply nodded and sat down opposite of her as they started eating and chatting. They had a pleasant conversation during dinner and Kaoru's confidence rose when she noticed that Kenshin was still looking towards her bare stomach, she already had his attention, now she just had to find a way to keep it. After dinner she led him into the den and she put on a movie before sitting next to him on the couch. As the movie progressed she looked up and saw that Kenshin was trying to pay attention to the movie and not her, she frowned at this, _"Oh no you don't, you're not winning this time, Kenshin." _Kaoru pretended to yawn and stretched before 'unconsciously' moving closer to him, smiling when she felt him tense up at the brief contact of her arm against his.

Kenshin tried hard to concentrate on the movie and not the beautiful, scantily dressed girl next to him, but the more he looked at her the more his mind started to drift off to indecent thoughts about what they could be doing instead of watching the movie. When he heard her yawn he felt a slight bit of relief until she leaned against his arm sleepily, he tensed up slightly and looked down at her to see that she looked tired, her eyes half closed and seeming to have difficulty focusing on the screen. As if they had a mind of their own, his eyes ventured downward to her legs again before moving up and resting on her shirt, from this angle he could just barely see down her top, giving him a pleasant view of what she was hiding underneath the blue material, _"I wonder if I could... no! Get that thought out of your mind, Himura! Just watch the movie, not Kaoru's shirt!" _He shook his head and immediately turned back to the movie, not wanting to let his mind go that far beyond the boundaries.

Kaoru sighed when Kenshin turned his attention back to the TV, she was sure that she'd gotten his attention but maybe she was wrong, maybe he wasn't interested in her after all, but she had been so sure a few moments ago when she felt his eyes on her. She glanced up at him and saw a blank look on his handsome face, his mind elsewhere as he watched the screen, that look told her all she needed to know. She suddenly felt self-conscious and pulled away from him whispering, "Sorry..."

She sighed and turned to the TV, now completely lost at where the movie was but her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Kenshin groan slightly as he stretched. She smiled half-heartedly, at least he was about to go to sleep, maybe by tomorrow he would forget about this whole thing. Then, without warning, he put his outstretched arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him, his warm breath wafting across her cheek as he whispered to her, "Don't be sorry, I don't mind being a pillow... that I don't."

Kaoru smiled and laid her head against his shoulder, not noticing the forced 'that I don't' or the deep gold that had come into his eyes as he gazed down at her longingly. Kenshin just couldn't get his eyes off of her, she was so beautiful and she felt so nice as she lay sleepily in his arms, unaware of how her innocent snuggles into his shoulder affected him. After a few moments he couldn't stand it anymore and he leaned down to her, breathing deeply through his nose to take in the jasmine scent of her hair. Kaoru felt him put his face to her hair and couldn't help but flush when she realized what he was doing, then she felt his hand start to slide gently up and down her arm, the callouses on his fingers and palm tickling her skin slightly as they went. Between his soft touches and warm body against hers it didn't take long for sleep to overcome her, moving her head to rest on his chest as she drifted off into slumber.

After the movie ended Kenshin chuckled softly, "That was an interesting movie, huh, Miss Kaoru... Miss Kaoru?"

He looked down and saw that her eyes were closed, obviously asleep against him. He smiled and turned around enough to were he could scoop her legs up into his free arm before lifting her up and carrying her into the hallway. A slight breeze came up and Kaoru nuzzled her nose into the nape of his neck, getting a smile from him as he opened her bedroom door. Kenshin gently laid her down and covered her up before gazing down at her sleeping face, she looked so calm and peaceful, the pale moonlight seeming to make her skin glow with an unearthly light, the illusion only adding to her beauty. He reached out and gently moved some stray hair from her forehead before letting his fingers glide across her cheek, smiling when she leaned into the touch slightly. He couldn't remember the last time he'd touched a woman's face but he quickly found out that he enjoyed her sleepy reaction to his touch as she unconsciously responded to him.

Without thinking he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers for a moment before pulling away and looking down at her, relieved to find that she was still asleep, "Goodnight... my dear Kaoru."

He quietly left the room and went to his own, sighing when he leaned against the wall, _"I can't believe I just kissed her... damn! It's been so long since I've felt like this, I haven't felt this way since... no, I don't want to go there! I have to find Gaiyo tomorrow and then find Norihiko, I want to get on with my life and I can't do that as long as he's still alive. Soon this will all be over and then Kaoru and I can be together, if she'll have me that is..."_

**Hey there, sorry about the long wait (again) my Mom's been sick lately and I've had to take care of her because she doesn't trust my Dad with cooking chicken soup (I don't either but that's not the point :). Any ways, I'll get the next chapter up ASAP, just be patient ok? Thanks gang!**


	8. Kaoru Learns The Truth

**A New Battle**

**Chapter 8 - Kaoru Learns The Truth**

Kaoru awoke the next morning and let out a long stretch as her groggy mind began to remember the previous night's events. She vaguely remembered eating dinner and watching a movie with Kenshin and that was about it, she looked around and realized that she was in her room but she couldn't recall how she'd gotten there. After a moment she recalled falling asleep on Kenshin's shoulder and a flush came to her face, feeling slightly embarrassed about passing out on him, _"He must've carried me to bed... I should go and talk to him."_

Kaoru quickly changed into her favorite pair of jeans and a yellow T-shirt before heading off to find Kenshin. She looked in the kitchen and in the laundry room but didn't find him in either place, "Kenshin!" she called out to him.

She heard two voices coming from the other side of the house and she hurried off down the hall, peaking around the corner to see Kenshin talking with Gaiyo, straining her ears so that she could hear what they were saying, "What do you mean that she ran into him!" Kenshin asked angrily

"I mean that last night, on her way home, she ran into him and he asked her out, but luckily for all of us she declined his offer." Gaiyo explained

"And you didn't kill him!"

"No, Kaoru was too close, and besides, where were you, Kenshin? Aren't you the one who's supposed to be protecting her?"

"I was here, she said she'd be right back and besides, I figured that you would keep an eye on her, but that's apparently all you did! He could've kidnaped her, killed her, or worse, Gaiyo!"

"I know that, Kenshin, but he didn't do anything and before I could make a move he was gone. The worst part of this is that he knows where she lives now and he's just waiting for the opportunity to make his move."

"And that's why we've got to stop him as soon as possible! There has to be a way of luring him out."

"There is a way but you won't go through with it."

"No, I won't, I refuse to put her in danger!"

Gaiyo looked at him for a long moment before he realized something that should've already been obvious, "You're in love with her, aren't you, Kenshin?"

"What... no... Kaoru's just..."

"Just a friend? I don't believe you, every time I even hint at the possibility of using her as bait you go Battousai on me and freak out."

"What do you want me to say, Gaiyo? Do you want me to say 'fine let's go through with it' or do you want me to say 'if you bring it up again I'll kill you?'"

"No, I'd like for you to tell me why in the hell you are so protective suddenly over a young girl which you hardly know."

"Because I'm in love with her, alright! There, I said it, I'm in love with Kaoru and I refuse to put her in danger just so I can kill an old enemy. She's already been attacked once and I won't let her go through that again."

"Kenshin, listen to me, we'll be right there with her, I know you have strong feelings for her and want to protect her but unless we kill Norihiko she will continue to be in grave danger."

"I know that, Gaiyo, but... I... I don't want to lose Kaoru."

"Like you did Tomoe?"

Kenshin was silent for a long time before he let out a sad sight, "Don't bring that up right now, Tomoe was a traitor and I dealt with that. Yes, I care for Kaoru and I know I'm over reacting but... I haven't felt this way about someone since the last time I was human..."

Kenshin raised his hand and traced his scar, pushing away the memory that came with it, "It doesn't matter, the past is the past, Kaoru's the only thing that I care about right now and I don't intend to let anyone take her away from me, not Norihiko or anyone else, if that means that I have to become a manslayer and kill again then that is what I will do, I will not lose someone else that I love."

"Kensin?"

Both men let out a gasp and they turned around to see a very confused Kaoru standing next to them, "Kaoru... how long have you been there?" Kenshin asked quietly

"Long enough... you're not really going to kill someone... are you, Kenshin?"

Kenshin and Gaiyo looked to one another for an answer but Gaiyo cleared his throat and stepped back to leave, "I... have to leave, I'll fill you in if I hear more."

"Thanks." was all Kenshin said as he watched his friend leave the dojo.

He turned to Kaoru and let out a sigh when he saw the confused look deep in her dark eyes, "Kaoru... I can explain..."

"What were you two talking about, what did he mean by using me as bait, and who are you going to kill?"

"Kaoru... it's difficult to talk about... I don't know how to tell you."

"Then just explain the best you can, Kenshin."

Kenshin sighed, "Alright, do you remember the night you were attacked?"

"Yes."

"Well... the vampire that attacked you is a Rogue named Norihiko and... we have reason to believe that he's still after you."

"Why would he still be after me?"

"Because you're strong, because you got away from him and survived. He enjoys killing especially those who are stronger than him and if he can't kill them then he'll turn them into a vampire. Gaiyo and I have been tracking him for awhile and we've been trying to think of ways to get him to come out and fight so we can defeat him."

"Is that why you and Gaiyo always go off by yourselves to talk?"

"Yes, I didn't want to get you involved more than you already are and also... I was... afraid."

"Afraid? Of what?"

"I was afraid that you'd find out who I really am."

"What do you mean?"

Kenshin sighed again, "You know about all the vampire attacks that have been going on the past few weeks?"

"Yes."

"Well... I know the vampire who's been attacking everyone."

"And you haven't stopped him!"

"No, we let him bite people so Norihiko will get angry and come out into the open but so far it hasn't worked."

"How do you know that the vampire who's helping you won't turn against you?"

"He won't."

"How do you know that, Kenshin, how can you be so sure?"

"I know because..."

"Kenshin, just tell me."

Kenshin was silent for a long moment before he finally answered, "I know... because I'm the one who's been doing the attacking."

"What!"

"I'm the one who's been attacking all of those people the past couple of weeks... I'm a vampire, Kaoru."

Kaoru giggled nervously, "You're joking, right Kenshin? Please tell me that you're pulling my leg."

"I'm not lying to you, Kaoru, I'm a vampire."

"I don't believe you!"

"Then I'll just have to show you."

Kenshin closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment and when he opened his eyes again they were a piercing amber color but Kaoru simply shook her head, "Ok, so you can change the color of your eyes, that doesn't mean that you're..."

Kaoru paused and let out a gasp when Kenshin opened his mouth to reveal his sharp fangs to her. She took a cautious step back as fear began to creep into her stomach, "You... you really are a vampire... all this time you've been lying to me!"

"Kaoru just let me explain..."

"Explain what? That... that you go around sucking the blood out of innocent people!"

"Kaoru, the men I've bitten were all criminals, they were robber, murderers, and rapists, I don't bite innocent people."

"That's not the point! It doesn't matter what they've done, you were attacking them for personal game!"

"That's not the case at all. True, Norihiko and I go way back when it comes to being enemies but I'm not attacking these people because I like it or just to settle a score."

"Then why are you doing it!"

"To stop him before he kills someone else and stop him from hurting you."

"Why does it matter to you if I get hurt or not? All you care about it being evil!"

"Kaoru listen..." Kenshin reached out to grasp her hand but she jerked away from him and started to back up, "Don't run from me, Kaoru, just listen to me."

"No! You just stay away from me!"

"Kaoru... Kaoru wait!"

Kaoru turned and ran as fast as she could, running into her room and shutting the door, but before she could lock it Kenshin grabbed the handle, easily pulling it open again even with her pulling against him, "Get out Kenshin!"

"No, I want you to understand." Kenshin said quietly as he entered the room.

"There's nothing to understand, I don't want to hear anymore!"

Without warning Kenshin lunged forward and grabbed her by the arms, pushing her into the wall and holding her there with his weight as she struggled against him to get away, "Let me go, Kenshin!"

"No, you're going to listen to me, whether you like it or not. I know you don't understand, I don't expect you to but what you do have to understand is that I'm doing this to protect you."

"Like I said why do you care if anything happens to me?"

"Because I truly do care about you, Kaoru, you're the first person I've had feelings for in over a hundred years."

Kaoru's eyes went wide at that comment, "A... hundred years... just how old are you?"

"That's not important, all you need to know about me is that you can trust me."

"How can I trust you, you're a vampire! For all I know you're just trying to gain my trust so you can bite me!"

"Kaoru," Kenshin raised his hand and rested his palm against her cheek, his voice soft and tender, "I would never hurt you, and besides, I don't bite women, I never have. And think about it, if I wanted to bite you I could've done it at anytime, including last night when you were asleep and vulnerable."

Kaoru thought long and hard about what he'd just said, he did have many opportunities to hurt her but he hadn't, but she still couldn't grasp why exactly he had held back, "Why haven't you tried to attack me?"

Kenshin smiled, "Because I care about you, I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to. You mean so much to me, Kaoru, and I would do anything for you and no matter what it takes I will always protect you."

"So... you're not going to wait until I drop my guard and bite me?"

"No, I would never bite you, Kaoru, I promise."

Kaoru nodded and smiled when his thumb stroked her cheekbone softly. She looked up and saw a strange look deep within his golden eyes, one she didn't recognize. She licked her suddenly dry lips, drawing his attention to them for a second before his eyes flickered across her face for several moments, neither of them saying a word as he did so. Then Kenshin started to lean down towards her and Kaoru felt her fear starting to return, unsure of what he was up to, "Ken..."

Kenshin silenced her by placing a finger to her lips before letting his hand trail down to her chin, grasping it gently and tilting her head up as he smiled down at her, "Shh... it's alright, Kaoru."

With that he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, getting a whimper of surprise from her as he did so. At first she tried to push him away, the feeling of kissing someone was so strange to her, but soon the feeling of his warm lips caressing hers took over her senses and she relaxed into him. Kenshin smiled inwardly when she relaxed and he became bolder as his hand left her chin to glide down her neck and across her shoulder and down her arm. After awhile Kaoru finally began to kiss him back and he ran his tongue across her bottom lip, trying to gain access to her mouth. When she didn't respond to his request he pressed his body firmly into hers, getting a gasp out of her when he did so. He took full advantage of that gasp and pushed his tongue past her lips to let it dance across her gently.

After several minutes Kenshin finally pulled away from her, due to the need for air, and kissed his way from her chin to her ear, gently sucking on the lobe before moving down to kiss her pulse, getting Kaoru to gasp softly at the new sensation, "Kenshin... what're you doing?"

"It's alright, just relax."

Kaoru sighed and brought her hands up to clutch at his shirt, her head rolling back with pleasure as he drew some of her skin into his mouth. She felt his hand on her hip for a second before it slid up to her waist, pushing her shirt up as he went. She let out a small gasp of joy when his hand came in contact with the bare skin of her stomach, his hand was rough from using a sword so much and the callouses on his fingers and palm tickled her skin softly as they traveled across her abdomen.

Kenshin pressed himself more firmly into her and let his free hand travel up to her hair, gathering the dark locks in his hand before pulling her head back to gain further access to her throat. Kaoru was immensely enjoying Kenshin's attention to her neck and her body was starting to react in many ways that it hadn't before, but just as she was about to get lost in the sensation she felt something sharp sink into her neck. Her eyes flew open and she let out a cry of pain, immediately trying to push him away when she realized it was his fangs, "Let me go!"

Kenshin was surprised by the sudden outburst, "Kaoru... what's wrong?"

"You lied to me! You were just trying to gain my trust so you could bite me!"

"Kaoru... I didn't bite you."

"Yes you did! I felt your fangs dig into my neck!"

Kenshin looked down and gasped when he saw a thin trail of blood going down her neck and into her shirt, he looked closer and saw two deep punctures near her pulse, undoubtedly caused by his sharp fangs, "Kaoru... I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

She struggled harder against him, "Yes you did!"

"Kaoru please stop... I swear I didn't mean to hurt you... I... I just forgot to retract my fangs."

"I don't believe you, just let me go, please!"

Kenshin's heart dropped into his stomach when he saw tears streaming down her pretty face and he tried to get her attention again, even so, they struggled against each other for several minutes, all the while he tried to calm her down but there was just no consoling the frightened young girl in his arms. Finally he let out a sigh, realizing that he had no other option, "Kaoru, look at me."

"No!"

Kaoru looked down to the ground and pushed against his chest as hard as she could but it was no use, he was just too strong. Kenshin held her fast and reached out to firmly taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look up into his eyes. Kaoru's eyes went wide when his began to glow faintly and she tried to look away but the hand on her chin prevented her from doing so. All of the sudden she felt sleepy and her body was beginning to turn numb, unable to turn away from his intense golden gaze as her eyelids began to grow heavy, "W... what're you... doing... to me..."

Kenshin leaned down and pressed a light but firm kiss to her lips, never breaking eye contact as he whispered a single word, "Sleep."

Kaoru's strength finally gave out and she went limp, falling into Kenshin's waiting arms as his spell took effect. Kenshin bent down and scooped the unconscious girl up into his arms and carried her over to the bed and laid her down. He covered her up and left the room, returning a few minutes later with a wet cloth in his hand. He sat next to her on the edge of the bed as he washed the blood off of her neck and shoulder, guilt filling his normally blank eyes as he gazed down at the young woman before him. He hadn't meant to hurt her, he had been so caught up in pleasing her that he had simply forgot to retract his fangs, but that simple mistake had hurt her badly, both physically and mentally. He had to find some way of making it up to her and gain her trust again, the thought of her being afraid of him was almost too much for him to bare. Once he was finished cleaning the blood off he placed his hand over the wound and healed it, lightly tracing the faint scars left behind on her pale skin. Kaoru stirred slightly at the touch and Kenshin's guilt grew as she tossed and turned under him, her face taking on a look of fear. He moved some hair away from her forehead and leaned down to her, kissing her softly, "I'm sorry..." he whispered.

With that, Kenshin stood up and left the room, anger replacing the guilt, not anger at Kaoru but anger at himself for being stupid enough to forget something so simple! How could he have forgotten to pull his fangs back, and even worse than that, how could he let himself lose so much control that he had bitten her! He sighed, what was done was done and he couldn't change that, he would just have to work hard and make sure that this never happened again, _"I'm sorry, Kaoru, I will make this up to you, I promise..."_

ANOTHER CHAPTER! More on the way (if I can ever work on a computer that doesn't hate me and delete my files!) Any ways, try not to be mad at me and I'll find a decent computer somewhere and finish this story (eventually... I hope :).


	9. Learning The Past

**A New Battle**

**Chapter 9 - Learning The Past**

Kaoru awoke the next morning with a start and looked around frantically for Kenshin but was relieved to find that she was alone and safe in her room. Her mind drifted back to the previous day's events and she began to remember exactly what had happened. She remembered fighting with Kenshin about him being a vampire then they started kissing, then she recalled something sharp cutting into her throat before she passed out. She raised her hand to her neck and let out a shiver when she remembered Kenshin's fangs, it felt so strange to be bitten, it hurt slightly and made you want to fight but at the same time it was calming and seductive, making you want to give into the sensation. Kaoru got up and wobbled over to the wall and looked into the mirror, vaguely seeing two puncture scars on her neck where Kenshin had bitten her and she let out a sigh, "I need to talk to him..."

She carefully made her way down the hall and looked into his room only to find that he wasn't there. She made a quick check of the dojo and finally found him sitting against one of the support beams on the porch, his eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly, indicating that he was asleep. Kaoru knelt next to him and raised her hand to push some hair away from his face, but just as she touched him his eyes shot open and he grabbed her wrist, causing her to let out a cry of surprise. Kenshin seemed to snap out of a trance and blinked several times at her, "Kaoru... I'm sorry, I'm not a really good person to around when I'm asleep."

"It's ok... sorry I scared you."

Kenshin let go of her wrist and they sat in uncomfortable silence for several minutes until Kaoru couldn't stand it any longer, "Kenshin... what happened yesterday?"

"I'm really not really sure myself, all I know is that I got carried away, but please believe me when I say that I never meant to hurt you."

"Then... why did you bite me?"

"I didn't mean to... it... it's been so long since I've kissed a woman that I just... lost control and forgot to retract my fangs is all. I know it probably means nothing to you but I'm sorry."

Kaoru nodded and looked to the ground as a frightening thought entered her mind, "Kenshin... since you bit me does that mean that... I'm going to turn into a vampire?"

Kenshin smiled and shook his head, "No, it's actually not that simple to become a vampire, one bite won't change you, it doesn't work that way."

"Then how do you become a vampire? I always thought that you had to be bitten by one?"

"You do have to be bitten, but three times by the same vampire, if three different vampires bite you then you'll just be weak from blood loss and have a bunch of holes in your neck."

Kaoru couldn't help but crack a smile at the comment, even when she was upset he could make her smile, but even so there were some things that she needed to know and not even his charm could make her forget that, "Kenshin... I know you've been lying to me about being a vampire and I know there's so much that I don't know about you but... I want to know if you'll tell me."

"Kaoru, I..."

"Kenshin, please! No more lies, no more secrets, just tell me everything so that I can understand what's going on! I need to know!"

Kenshin looked into her eyes, seeming to search for something until he finally gave her a soft smile, "You'll beat me senseless if I don't tell you, won't you?"

"Yes!"

"Well... where should I begin?"

"You can start with telling me about this vampire that you're trying to kill."

"His name is Norihiko, he's a young vampire, like myself, we're from the same time period and we've been going at each others' throats for well over a hundred years. He's young but dangerous, he's one of those vampires who enjoys killing and he'll do anything for blood. Lately he's been attacking young women and... taking advantage of them while they're unconscious."

Kaoru's eyes went wide with shock, "Is that why you've been following me everywhere?"

"Yes, he won't attack if they're with someone, he prefers to stay in the shadows and just grab those who're alone and more vulnerable."

"So this... Norihiko is the one who attacked me that night?"

"Yes, and because you got away from him he knows how strong you are and he'll do anything to get you. But don't worry, I'm here to protect you, you have nothing to fear."

Kaoru nodded and they returned to the silence once more before she leaned over and rested her forehead against his arm, "I'm sorry, Kenshin."

"For what?"

"About yesterday, I overreacted, I shouldn't have said those things to you, I was..."

Kenshin stopped her by placing a finger to her lips, smiling gently at her, "Don't be sorry, I'm the one who should be apologizing to you."

Kaoru shook her head, "Let's just forget about it, ok? But... there is something I want to know."

"What's that?"

"Who are you, really? I mean... where do you come from, how did you become a wanderer?"

"It's a long story, Kaoru."

"I have the time."

Kenshin smiled, "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"You mentioned earlier that I was the only person you've cared for in over a hundred years, just how old are you?"

"Physically I'm about eighteen or nineteen but literally I'm a hundred and fifty-six."

"A hundred and fifty-six? Just when were you born?"

"1849."

"That means that... you lived during the Meiji Era!"

"That I did, that's how I knew so much about that movie of yours, I was there during in most of those battles that they were talking about."

"I see... wait! You were IN those battles?"

"Most of them, yes."

"Were you a samurai?"

"No, I was an imperialist, I fought against the Shogunate with the Choshu clan."

Kaoru thought about the facts for a moment then a realization donned on her, "Wait a second... Battousai wasn't your grandfather... you are Battousai, aren't you, Kenshin?"

Kenshin chuckled, enjoying the cute, wide eyed expression on her face, "Yes, or at least I was, I haven't killed for a long time, though."

"How did you become Battousai? I mean, I've heard rumors and everything but I don't want to assume wrongly of you."

"When I was fourteen I ran away from my master and was recruited by Kogoro Katsura. Shortly thereafter a few of my comrades saw me use my battou-jutsu attack and they just started calling me Battousai."

"What's battou-jutsu?"

"It's an attack of the Hiten-Mitsurugi style, it accelerates the speed and power of the sword by drawing it out from the sheath."

"And I suppose that you're a master of the attack?"

"Yes, I've perfected everything concerning battou-jutsu, that's how I got the name Battousai. So, what else would you like to know?"

"You're sure you don't mind telling me?"

"Not at all, you've put up with me and gave me a place to stay and forgiven me after all the trouble I've caused, the least that I owe you is an explanation."

"Alright... um... why did you become a wanderer?"

Kenshin was quiet for a moment before he answered softly, "I made a horrible mistake..."

Kaoru took the tone in his voice as a hint and decided to change the subject, "Have you ever stayed in one place for a long time?"

"Yes, I stayed in one place for almost seventy years."

"Really! Where did you stay?"

Kenshin smiled, "Believe it or not... I stayed here at the Kamiya dojo."

"Are you serious! That means that you knew my ancestors!"

"Oh yes, I knew them very well, they were my family for a long time... until I started wandering again, you're the first Kamiya I've spoken to in fifty-six years."

"How did you meet them?"

Kenshin looked over at her and smiled at the curious sparkle in her eyes, "It was... 1879, I think... I was passing through downtown and this girl attacked me with a bokken. She thought that I was killing people in the area using her style but it turned out to be someone using my name in the end. But any ways, during a fight she got hurt and I took her home and she just let me stay here at the dojo with her."

"Who was the girl exactly?"

"Kamiya... Kaoru."

"Another Kaoru!"

"Yes, she looked just like you, that's one thing that caught my attention about you, when I first saw you I thought I'd lost my mind."

"Because I look like the other Kaoru?"

"Yes."

"Do I... act like her? What was she like?"

"She was very hyper at times, happy, full of life... she was mean half the time, strong in mind and body... come to think of it you are just like her, well... maybe you're not as mean as she was but..."

"What do you mean she was mean, what did she do?"

Kenshin chuckled at the memory, "I would always do something that rubbed her hair the wrong way and she would hit me over the head with her bokken... or a broom... or her fist... basically anything she could find she would hit me with it."

Kaoru giggled, imagining what it must have looked like to see Battousai get beat up by a young girl, "Who else did you know in the past?"

"I know many of your friends' ancestors, most of which they're named after. Sanosuke Sagara, Misao Makimachi, Yahiko Myojin, Aoshi Shinamori, Megumi Takani..."

"You know half of Tokyo, don't you?"

Kenshin laughed, "Yes, it felt strange being here again for awhile, at times I felt like I was in the past again but... then I'd remember that you all weren't really my friends... you were just their children."

Kaoru frowned, "Do we... make you sad?"

"Oh not at all, but... I just don't think I can handle losing my friends all over again is all."

"What do you mean?"

"I loved your ancestors dearly, they were my family... and even thought they knew I was a vampire and Battousai they excepted me and loved me. Kaoru and I were very close and..."

Kenshin paused for a moment then Kaoru noticed the sad look in his eyes and a thought suddenly crossed her mind, "Did... you and Kaoru have an affair?"

"Oh no! I loved Kaoru, yes, but I wasn't in love with her. I always thought of her as my little sister more than anything else, but we did go out for a couple of years and found out that it just wouldn't work that way between us then we spent the rest of the time just being friends."

"I see... so, what did you mean by 'losing your friends again?'"

Kenshin sighed, "I stayed here for most of my life and I watched all of my friends grow up and change while I stayed the same. They were all teenagers when I met them and over the years I watched each of them get married, have children and grandchildren... I watched them grow old and eventually... I watched them die."

Kaoru waited patiently as Kenshin took a breath to calm himself before he continued, "That was when I learned one of the curses of being a vampire... immortality. When you become a vampire you die and come back to life but your body stays the same as when you passed away, you don't change physically anymore and you live forever the way that you died. One by one I watched my friends get old and pass away, I even watched many of their children do the same thing but... Kaoru's death was the one that hurt me the most."

"Why?"

"Because... I sat beside of her and held her hand as she died."

"Kenshin... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."

"It's alright, I didn't mean to get all sappy like that, I must've bored you to death with all of this chatter of mine."

"Not at all, I just didn't realize that you've gone through so many pains and hardships."

"My life hasn't been as horrible as most others'. I think I've actually lived a pretty decent life, after all, how many people can talk to young people and threaten to kick their butts like you did their ancestors'?"

Kaoru chuckled slightly, "That's true I suppose. Can I ask you one more thing?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"How did you become a vampire and how did you get your scar?"

Kenshin's face turned pale and he looked down to the ground for a long time, placing a hand over his scar as he did so, "I guess I can't explain one without explaining the other... it's kind of a long story, though."

"Would you tell me?"

"When... I was fifteen I was an assassin for the Choshu clan and one night I killed a man named Jubei Shigekura but his body guard, Kiyosato, was so desperate to stay alive he just wouldn't stay down and I let down my guard and his sword caught my face. A few months later I was returning home from an assignment and I was ambushed by a ninja."

"Did you kill him?"

"Yes, but his woman saw me and fainted on me because she was drunk. I took her home with me and we eventually became friends, her name was Tomoe Yukishiro. About a month later the Shinsengumi attacked Ikidaya and Tomoe and I were sent to Otsu to live as husband and wife."

"Why husband and wife?"

"Because they would be looking for an assassin, not a happily married man, that's what Katsura had told us any ways."

"What happened?"

"Well, a month or so later I was out in the woods checking out a noise I'd heard and someone grabbed me from behind and bit me, the same thing happened a few weeks later and after that I avoided the woods as much as I could. But one day, during the winter, I was going home from town and I got caught again but this time I had my swords with me and I fought him but he was a lot stronger than I was and he overpowered me and bit me for the third time. I still remember how it felt, it hurt so much because I was fighting him... I'd never felt pain like that before and I have yet to feel it again. I woke up sometime later and saw Gaiyo, he explained to me what had happened and he helped me get my strength back and taught me how to hunt and what not."

"So... Gaiyo's a vampire as well?"

"Yes, he's one of the older vampires so it's his job to find younger vampires and help them out like he did for me."

"What happened after that?"

"Katsura finally let Tomoe and I return to Kyoto and we lived happily for a couple of years without any problems. I would go out and fight and hunt when I needed to and Tomoe would wait for me and help me tend to my wounds when I returned. I had fallen in love with her when we were in Otsu and I thought that I would spend the rest of my life with her but... one night, after a battle, I came home and Tomoe tried to kill me."

"Why did she try to kill you!"

Kenshin sighed sadly, "Tomoe... was a vampire slayer and that man, Kiyosato, whom I'd killed a few years before, was her fiancé, so she had two reasons to kill me... revenge and duty. I tried my best not to hurt her but I was already tired and weak from fighting and she pinned me down and cut my face before I could get away from her. Without thinking I drew my dagger and... killed her... I vowed then and there that I would never kill again and I left the Choshu clan and became a wanderer."

"_That was his horrible mistake... he's had such a hard life... he can't help what he is but... even so, he's still a kind hearted man inside, despite everything he's been through."_

Kaoru snapped out of her thoughts when Kenshin started talking again, "I kept my vow and wandered around Japan for nearly ten years until I met Kaoru but I eventually ran into other slayers and I had to break my vow so I just... never made another one because I knew I'd eventually end up breaking it as well. That's part of the reason I tried to hide who I was from you, your grandmother found out who I was and she hated me for my past and I became a wanderer again and left the dojo. I knew that if you found out who I really was you would hate me and be afraid of me just like your grandmother was and... I can't stand the thought of either but... any ways, you don't have to worry about me causing trouble, once Norihiko is dead I'll leave and let you get back to your life and..."

"No!"

Kenshin looked over at her with wide eyes and was shocked when she reached over and grasped his hand, "I don't want you to leave, Kenshin, I want you to stay. I know I freaked out yesterday and I'm sorry for that, I have no reason to be afraid of you, I know that now. I don't care about your past or what you've done, I know you can't help being a vampire and I know that you still have to kill... but... but none of that matters to me, I just want you to stay... with me..."

"But Kaoru... it would be dangerous having me around and..."

"I don't care! I know I'm safe with you and if someone comes for you then I will protect you, no matter what!"

"Kaoru, I don't..."

Kenshin was abruptly cut off when Kaoru leaned up and pressed her lips to his, effectively silencing any further protests he might have made. After a moment she pulled away and smiled beautifully at him, "You're staying and if you sneak off and start wandering again I'll never forgive you. Like it or not you're part of my family now and I will do anything to make you happy... if you'll let me."

Kenshin smiled, "You already have, Kaoru, you don't know what those words mean to me."

"You can show me..."

Kenshin smiled and gladly took the hint, putting his arms around her and pulling her to him as he leaned down to her for a gentle kiss. Kaoru wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed happily when his hands started running along her back and waist, but before they could go further an excited Yahiko came around the corner, "Hey Kaoru have you... seen... EWW! That's so gross! You two are nasty!"

Without asking his question he turned and ran back down the hall, missing the chuckles coming from Kenshin and Kaoru as he left. Kenshin gave her a light kiss and grinned down at her, "You know... we need a warning for him."

Kaoru giggled and hugged him, "We'll figure out something, until then we'll just have to wait until he leaves the dojo."

Kenshin smiled and kissed her on the forehead, "You're worth the wait."


	10. Captured

**A New Battle**

**Chapter 10 - Captured**

Over the next week or so things began to get back to normal and soon everyone got used to seeing Kenshin and Kaoru acting like a couple. They would play around, hold hands, cuddle during movies and other couple things, all the while ignoring the comments and jokes from the others whenever they tried to do anything cozy. Of course they had some private time to themselves and they would kiss and explore a little but no matter how far they went Kenshin always made sure to avoid her neck, fearful of repeating his prior mistake. One day Megumi, Sanosuke's sister, was having a party and everyone, except Kaoru, decided to go. After everyone left she took a bath and watched an old romance movie for about an hour or so before watching some cartoons. Eventually she became bored and laid down on the couch to take a nap. As she began to drift off she thought she felt someone in the room with her but dismissed it as being her imagination playing tricks on her. Then out of nowhere a warm mouth covered hers as strong hands grabbed her own when they flew up to fend off her attacker, their lips effectively muffling the shrill scream she let out from fright. She opened her eyes and her struggles ceased when she saw a familiar mop of red hair above her. Kaoru relaxed into him and kissed back, glaring playfully at him when he finally pulled away to look at her, "Kenshin, you jerk! You scared me half to death!"

He smiled, "I'm sorry." he said a little too simply.

"Sure you are! But any ways, what're you doing here, I thought you went to the party?"

"And be social? Not a chance, besides, I'd much rather spend the evening with you then a bunch of hyper, half-drunk kids."

Kaoru giggled and patted his shoulder, "I forgot, we're all kids to you, aren't we, grandpa?"

"Ha, ha, very funny."

Kenshin let her up and knelt in front of her as she rested her forehead on his, "I'm sorry, so what would you like to do?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Huh?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes, why?"

"Just close your eyes."

Kaoru arched an eyebrow at him, not sure whether to do it or not, but the soft smile on his face told her that everything would be fine so she did as he asked and shut her eyes then he took her hands and started to lead her out of the room. As she reached the hallway she tripped and she opened her eyes to look up at Kenshin as he caught her. Kenshin smiled and helped her stand before moving behind her, "You can't peak, Kaoru."

"Sorry, I tripped, my eyes are closed again."

Kaoru heard him chuckle then she felt his hand cover her eyes, getting her to laugh, "I'm not going to peak, Kenshin."

"No, but you might trip again."

Kaoru laughed softly to herself and let him lead her to wherever he was going. After a short walk they stopped and Kenshin whispered in her ear, "Alright, you can look now."

He moved his hand away from her eyes and she let out a gasp when she saw the room. Kenshin had made dinner for them, which was anything but unusual, but what got her was the numerous candles scattered elegantly across the room, giving it a very romantic feel. Kaoru turned around and hugged him, smiling up at her red-haired wanderer, "What is this?"

"I just felt like doing something nice for you, but I guess it's also an apology."

"An apology for what, Kenshin?"

"For last week when I... bit you."

"You still feel guilty about that?"

"Yes."

"Oh Kenshin, you're silly, I forgave you for that a long time ago."

"I know but I still feel horrible about it."

Kaoru giggled and kissed his throat, "Would you feel better if I bit you?"

Kenshin chuckled and kissed her forehead, "You're about a hundred years too late, beautiful, I've already been bitten enough for one lifetime."

"Are you sure? I think I can get you to like my 'biting.'"

Kenshin turned pink at the double meaning but hugged her all the same, "We'll discuss biting me later, let's go ahead and eat dinner."

"Alright."

After dinner Kaoru drug Kenshin into the den and they watched a movie before an idea suddenly popped into Kaoru's head, "Hey Kenshin, I've just thought of a good idea!"

"Oh no... I'm finished..." he muttered playfully to himself

"What!"

"Nothing, Kaoru, nothing! So what was your idea?"

Kaoru got up from the couch and bounded over to the stereo and turned it to the soft station, smiling happily a moment later when an old love song poured out of the speakers, "Oh I love this song! Dance with me, Kenshin!"

"Huh?"

"Dance with me."

"No, not a chance, girl, I'll do anything for you except dancing."

Kaoru huffed slightly and went up to him, tugging on his wrist, "Come on, just one dance?"

"No."

"Kenshin..." Kaoru kissed his lips lightly and gave him the big puppy dog eyes and her cute little pout, "please?"

Kenshin groaned, knowing he was defeated, he just couldn't stand it when she did that to him, "Alright! One dance."

"Thank you, come on!"

Kaoru drug him out to the middle of the room and Kenshin stopped, looking down at her with a slight flush, "Kaoru... I've never danced before."

"Never?"

"No, dancing wasn't one of the of the requirements needed to be an assassin."

Kaoru rolled her eyes and took his hands, putting them on her hips before placing her own on his shoulders, "Ok, now just follow my lead."

She started to gently sway back and forth to the soft music and Kenshin had to smile, "This isn't hard."

"See, it's easy, but relax a little, you're too tense."

"I can't relax, I'm afraid of stepping on you and..."

Kaoru silenced him with a tender kiss and soon thereafter she felt him relax into her and that was when she pulled away, "You relaxed now?"

Kenshin smiled, "More than..."

Kaoru sighed and laid her head against his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck when his encircled her waist to pull her closer to him. They continued to dance like that for quite sometime, just enjoying the closeness and the warmth of being in each others' arms. The song changed to one of the newer songs and Kenshin pulled back enough to look at her, using his fingers to lift her face up to his, "Kaoru..."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For this."

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers softly, in return Kaoru closed her eyes and stood up on her toes to reach him better, sighing happily into his mouth when his hand slid back to cradle her head for a deeper kiss. After what seemed like an eternity, yet only a few moments, Kenshin pulled away for air and gazed down at her with glazed over golden eyes. Kaoru kissed his chin and took his hands, leading him out of the den and down the hall to her room. Kenshin shut the door behind them and immediately took her into his arms for another passionate kiss.

Kaoru's hands seemed to develop a mind of their own and slid down his chest to the end of his shirt, pushing it up and over his head where he helped her by hastily tossing it behind him before returning to their kiss. This time it was Kaoru who had to pull away to breathe, gasping for some much needed air as his lips traveled over her face. She didn't know what had gotten into him, his kisses were passionate and almost overwhelming in their intensity, it felt as though he was trying to devour her, but she wasn't complaining, though, she actually enjoyed it. She felt his hands slide under her shirt to glide over her stomach, pushing the material up as he did so but Kaoru grasped his hands and pulled away slightly, "Wait Kenshin."

"What's wrong?"

"I... I've never... done this before..."

Kenshin's eyes went wide for a second before his handsome face took on a look of worry, "Do you want me to stop?"

"No but... will you go slow?"

"Of course but if you change your mind just let me know, alright?"

"I will."

Kenshin kissed her again, more gently this time as he continued his earlier task of removing her shirt and it was soon tossed aside to join his on the floor, forgotten by them both for the time being. His hands traveled over her back and waist, enjoying the feel of her soft skin against his sword calloused palms. Kaoru hugged his chest and her nails dug into his back when his rough hands found a particularly sensitive spot on the back of her neck. Kenshin smiled to himself at her reaction before bending down to scoop her up into his arms, never breaking their kiss as he carried her over to the bed and laid her gently across it. He moved to lay over her and let his hands slide up and down her arms before moving down to explore her flat stomach once more. The need to breathe forced him to pull away and his lips moved to kiss her cheeks and chin before moving downwards to her neck. Before he realized what he was doing he started to suckle on her pulse, greatly enjoying the feeling of her heart beating against his tongue. Kaoru shivered slightly and let out a whimper, unconsciously arching her body upwards into his, getting him to smile.

Kenshin continued his assault on her neck and she moaned his name, sending a jolt of desire coursing through him, then without realizing it he bit down lightly on her throat, getting her to cry out softly. His eyes immediately shot open with from shock and he pulled away to look into her deep blue eyes, "I'm... I'm sorry, Kaoru... I didn't mean to."

"What're you apologizing for?"

"I... bit you."

Kaoru smiled and shook her head, "There's a difference between a love bite and a feeding one, you didn't hurt me, I actually liked it."

"But..."

"No buts, Kenshin... I want you to give me the second bite."

Kenshin's eyes widened with shock at her request, had he heard her right?

"You... want me to... bite you?"

"Yes... I feel badly for making you feel guilty, I didn't mean to make you feel the way and I want to prove to you that you can never hurt me."

"But Kaoru... to let me..."

Kaoru shook her head and flushed slightly as she nuzzled his shoulder, "I want this, Kenshin, to prove to you that I trust you and... to make me yours..."

"Kaoru, I'm not sure..."

"Please Kenshin? Make me yours."

Kenshin smiled softly and closed his eyes in concentration for a moment before leaning down to kiss her lovingly, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Kaoru leaned her head back to allow him better access to her neck and he took the hint and leaned down to kiss her pulse, trying to get her to relax. A moment later Kaoru sighed and Kenshin opened his mouth, sinking his fangs into her throat at gently as he could as his fingers fumbled with the buttons on her jeans.

Kenshin awoke the next morning from a pleasant dream and looked down to see Kaoru still nestled safely in his arms. He smiled and ran a hand through her hair, enjoying the way it slid between his fingers and down his hand. He continued playing with her raven colored hair until sleep began to overtake him once again but a tap on the door made him fully awake and alert. He gently moved Kaoru off of him and quickly slipped into his jeans before he grabbed his dagger and opened the door, a feeling of relief washing over him when he saw who it was, "Gaiyo, it's early, what's wrong?"

Gaiyo opened his mouth to say something but then noticed Kenshin's half-clothed attire and peered past him to look into the room, a smile coming to his face when he saw Kaoru sleeping inside, "Am I interrupting anything important?"

"No, what did you need?"

"It's about Norihiko, he..."

"Hold that thought, Gaiyo, let me throw on a shirt and we'll go to the den."

"Why can't we talk here?"

"Because I don't want to wake Kaoru up."

Gaiyo nodded and waited patiently as Kenshin put on his shirt and tucked Kaoru back in before following the red-haired man to the den, "Now, what's going on, Gaiyo?"

"Norihiko knows you're here and he also knows about you and Kaoru."

"What! How!"

"I'm not sure, but we actually managed to speak to him last night and he said that he knows your weakness and he intends to use it."

"We've gotta find out where he is and stop him, did you send one of our trackers after him?"

"Yes but he's dead, Norihiko killed him."

"That's right and you're going to be next!"

They looked over and saw a young man with short blonde hair standing next to them, an angry look forming on Gaiyo's face as he addressed the stranger, "What do you want, Geki?"

"Do you know him, Gaiyo?" Kenshin asked

"Yes, he's one of Norihiko's henchmen."

Geki smiled, "So you remember me, I see, but my quarrel's not with you, Gaiyo... come to think of it... Himura's not really my target either."

"Then who are you after?" Kenshin asked impatiently

"I've come for the girl named Kaoru, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find her, would you, Himura?"

"You stay away from Kaoru! If you want to get to her you'll have to go through me!"

Geki smirked and reached for the sword at his side, "Have it your way, Himura."

MEANWHILE

Kaoru stretched and let out a yawn, reaching over for Kenshin only to find an empty bed,_ "Maybe he went to start breakfast or something..."_

She rolled over and pulled the covers over her head to shield out the offending sunlight that had crept into the room. A few minutes she felt the covers move away from her then a warm pair of lips started caressing her neck. She sighed and stretched out her neck to give him better access and he took the offering without hesitation, nipping gently on the tender flesh revealed to him by her actions. A moment later she felt a rough hand rest on her waist just below her night shirt as a soft, gruff voice sounded in her ear, "Kaoru..."

When she didn't answer or turn around to look at him he dug his nails into her side, causing her to cry out in pain and spin around to face him, "Ow! Kenshin what're you doing, that..."

She paused in mid-sentence when she didn't see the familiar golden eyes that belonged to her Kenshin, instead she came face to face with an unusual but familiar silver gaze and a wicked smile, "Hello Kaoru."

"Norihiko! What're you..."

He abruptly cut her off by placing his hand roughly over her mouth, his eyes glowing faintly as he starred into hers, "Sleep Kaoru..."

A moment later her struggles ceased and she went limp as the spell took it's toll on her. Norihiko smiled and picked her up into his arms before sending a mental message to Geki, _"I have what I came for, let's go."_

He didn't wait for his accomplice as he hurriedly left the room and ran out of the yard, a sleeping Kaoru resting unaware in his arms as they disappeared over the dojo wall.

Geki had been fighting with Kenshin and Gaiyo and was surprisingly holding his own fairly well against the two legendary swordsmen. When he heard Norihiko in his mind he smirked and sheathed his sword, "It's been fun gentlemen, but I must be off, thanks for the girl, Himura, I'm sure we'll have fun with her."

Geki left without another word and Gaiyo glanced over at Kenshin, "What did he mean, 'thanks for the girl?'"

"Oh no! Kaoru!"

They ran off down the hall and entered her room, finding only a note on the bed where she was supposed to be. Kenshin quickly read the note before crushing it in his fist angrily, "Damn it! Geki was just a distraction! Norihiko has Kaoru!"

"What are you going to do now, Kenshin?"

"Simple, I'm going to find Norihiko, kill him and get Kaoru back!"

Kenshin started out the door but Gaiyo caught his arm and halted him, "Kenshin, it's been fifty years since you've killed someone and you're not as cruel as you used to be, do you really think you can beat him as you are now?"

Kenshin turned around and looked directly into Gaiyo's eyes, drawing a gasp of surprise from him when he saw the cold anger radiating from Kenshin's golden eyes, "Just watch me."

Kenshin twisted his arm free from his friends's grasp and ran out of the dojo, leaving a startled and confused Gaiyo behind him as he headed off to find his prey.

**How's that for action? I know, I got behind again but it's almost over YEY! I'll have the next chapter up soon so be patient and stop sending threatening e-mails (looks at friend sitting on the couch :). Any ways, the next chapter should be fun because Kenshin finally gets to kick some butt, yey!**


	11. Together Forever

A New Battle

Chapter 11 – Together Forever

Kaoru awoke slowly and cracked her eyes open but was forced to shut them again when the harsh light assaulted her senses. After several moments she was finally able to keep them open and looked around at her surroundings, realizing she was no longer in her room. She tried to sit up but quickly discovered that her hands were tied to the posts of the bed she lay on. Before she could begin to struggle to get free someone came into the room and she tried to see who it was but her vision was still slightly blurred and she couldn't tell who it was, "K… Kenshin?"

The visitor looked over at her and chuckled, "Oh, so you're awake, I was beginning to wonder if I had killed you."

"Norihiko? Where am I?"

"You're at my hideout, do you like it?" he asked mockingly

"Why did you bring me here?"

Norihiko came over and sat on the edge of the bed beside of her, moving some stray hair out of her face, "Two reasons, one to lure Battousai here so I can kill him and secondly, I just wanted you here."

"What do you want with me?"

"I've always wanted you, well… the first time we met I had planned on killing you but then I found out how strong you are and I decided that I needed to make you mine."

"Well that's not going to happen anytime soon, Norihiko."

"Oh it will my dear, just as soon as I get rid of Battousai winning your heart will be simple."

"Why do you want to kill Kenshin? He told me that you've been fighting since the Meiji restoration."

"That's true, we have been fighting since the revolution but as to why I want to kill him he deserves to suffer and die."

Kaoru snorted at him, "What could he have possibly done to you that would make you want to take his life!"

"Simple, he killed my brother."

"Your… brother…"

"Yes, Daichi was a Choshu soldier, like Battousai, but apparently my brother angered him and that monster killed him in cold blood! Slashed him without a second thought!"

"But… I don't think that Kenshin would kill for no reason at all, there must have been a reason…"

"Why do you try to defend him, Kaoru? Battousai has killed so many people and bitten countless others, including you."

Kaoru flushed as he ran his hand over her neck, twisting her head to try and get away from him, "You've done far worse than Kenshin has! At least he doesn't take advantage of his victims when they're completely helpless!"

Norihiko smirked, "My victims were more than willing, well… until they came out of the trance at least, but that's not here or there. True I have fun with my victims but at least I don't murder children as he has."

"Kenshin would never hurt a child!"

"You think so? I saw him with my own eyes. Most of the 'men' he was killing were thirteen, fourteen, fifteen year old children, he cut them in two without even blinking and yet he puts on this air that he's just a sweet wanderer! He's not at all what he seems, my dear."

"I trust Kenshin with my life and I don't care what he's done in the past, I only care about who he is now and that's all that matters to me!"

Norihiko laughed, "You're just like the other Kaoru."

"You… knew my ancestor?"

"Oh yes, we met once or twice, she was quite a lovely young woman but like you she did everything she could to protect Battousai, she even risked her own life to save his on several occasions."

"I can see why she would."

"She was a fool to protect him and so are you, Battousai deserves to suffer like my brother had," he paused and chuckled, "come to think of it… he has suffered some."

"What did you do?"

"Oh I didn't do anything, nature made him suffer for me. It was enjoyable watching him suffer as he had to sit back and watch his friends die."

Kaoru flushed in anger, "How can that possible amuse you!"

"Simple, while he stayed young his friends grew old and died right before his eyes, but… I have to say that the greatest hit came when Kaoru died. I think he really did love her but no one ever knew it."

"What do you mean?"

"First he was just her friend, then he became her brother, then her son, and eventually her grandson. It was very fulfilling watching his heart break when he held Kaoru's hand as she died, the look on his face was priceless."

"You're sick!"

"Maybe so, but you'll soon come to love me for it."

"Go to hell!"

"I've already been there, it's quite a lovely place."

He reached out to touch her face and she tried to bite him, getting a chuckle from him, "Now don't be that way, Kaoru, you'll have to get used to me touching you sooner or later."

"No way! Kenshin won't let that happen!"

Norihiko laughed, "He won't have a say in the matter, because just as soon as Battousai comes I'll kill him and then I will make you my wife."

Kaoru's eyes flashed angrily and she turned her head away when he leaned down to kiss her. He laughed in his throat and grasped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him, "Don't ever try to escape me, Kaoru, I'm a nice man when I want to be but if you push me too far I'll be forced to put you in your place."  
Kaoru tried to bite his hand but he was quick enough to move away, "Now, now, is that any way to act towards your future husband?"

"I'll never marry you! I'd rather die!"

"Don't worry, Kaoru," he reached out and placed his palm against her cheek but she turned away from the touch. Angry, he grabbed her hair and made her look at him, leaning down to let his nose touch hers, "you'll see, I'm a far better lover than Battousai and you will learn to love me, whether you want to or not."

Kaoru struggled to get away from him but her bound hands and the fist in her hair made that very difficult to do. He let his lips meet hers, stifling the scream she let out as his free hand went to her nightshirt, pushing it up until, "Norihiko!"

He pulled away from her and smirked wickedly, "Well, well, well, it appears that Battousai has come to the rescue, don't worry this won't take long then we'll pick up where we left off."

He got up to leave and Kaoru took the chance to cry out, "Kenshin!"

Norihiko quickly covered her mouth before pulling out a scarf and tying it around her head to make an effective gag, "Sorry to be so rough, my dear, but I can't have you warning our visitor, now can I?"

He kissed her forehead and left the room, missing the tear that slid down Kaoru's face as the door shut behind him.

**OUTSIDE**

Kenshin waited as Norihiko came out to greet him, staring blankly at his old enemy as he smirked in his annoying way, "It's been a long time, Battousai, I see you haven't changed a bit."

"Cut the crap, Norihiko, where's Kaoru!"

"She's fine, she's just waiting for me to return."

"I seriously doubt that, what have you done to her!"

"Nothing, not yet any ways, we were busy getting acquainted until you so rudely interrupted us."

Kenshin's eyes flashed angrily but he kept quiet as Norihiko looked down at his sword, "I see you found a sword, what did you do, go to a museum and steal it?"

"Just shut up and draw your sword so I can kill you and get it over with."

"I love to disappoint you, Battousai, but I won't be the one who's dying today."

"We'll see, won't we?"

Norihiko charged forward and locked his sword briefly against Kenshin's before they jumped away from each other to get better footing. Kenshin waited until Norihiko came at him again but he simply sidestepped and slashed him across the side, getting a chuckle out of the evil vampire as he watched his blood drip onto the ground, "You know Battousai… you used a similar attack to kill my brother…"

"I killed many brothers, as well as fathers, uncles and grandfathers… your brother wasn't the only one I killed."

"I don't care about the others you killed I only care about what you did to Daichi!"

Kenshin raised an eyebrow when he heard that name, "Daichi? The young man that worked for Katsura during the revolution?"

"Yes, but let's not remain in the past, lets just put an end to it!"

Kenshin sheathed his sword and stood perfectly still as Norihiko charged at him again, not moving an inch even as his sword came in contact with his stomach. But as the tip began to pierce his skin he spun around and drew his sword, using his famous battou-jutsu attack to slash Norihiko across the back. Norihiko's eyes went wide with pain and shock and he fell to the ground before Kenshin kicked his sword away from his reach and placed the tip of his own sword against Norihiko's throat as he grinned evilly up at him, "It… seems as though you've won… Battousai… go ahead, kill me like you did my brother!"

"Before I do you need to understand the circumstances behind your brother's death. Daichi was a traitor, he was giving information to the Shinsengumi and when I found that out he tried to kill me but you can see how that attempt turned out. I never killed without reason, most of the time I killed when I was in battle because that was what I had to do to survive."

"Yes… but you never gave anyone you fought the chance to live!"

"No I didn't, but if I've learned one thing from all of my years of living and wandering it's that I wasn't the only man killing out there on those blood soaked battlefields in Kyoto. It took me nearly sixty years to learn that I wasn't the only manslayer out there, that I wasn't the only murderer killing people in order to survive and live to fight another day. I don't regret what I've done, there's no point in feeling regret for things that you cannot change."

"Good for you… now… end this and kill me…"

Kenshin was silent for a moment, pushing the tip of his sword into Norihiko's neck until he drew blood before he pulled away and sheathed his sword, "No, I don't think I will, you're not worth it. I think it's a far more suitable punishment for you to live the rest of your life in prison, remembering your embarrassing defeat day after day. I have more important things to do so just get up and leave and live your life and I'll do the same."

Norihiko forced himself to get up and chuckled darkly as he drew a dagger, "You're a fool to turn your back on me, Battousai!"

Kenshin turned around to block his attack but before Norihiko could reach him a sword suddenly pierced through his heart and he fell to the ground with a loud thud. Kenshin looked in front of him and his eyes went wide when he saw his helper, "Geki! What the hell are you doing!"

Geki smiled and slung the blood from his sword before sheathing it, "Killing Norihiko, what does it look like?"

"You killed your own leader? What are you up to?"

Geki chuckled and bowed politely, his voice changing to a much sweeter tone, "I apologize for the deception, Mr. Himura."

"What!"

"It's alright, Kenshin, Geki's on our side."

Kenshin looked over and there stood a smiling, very amused Gaiyo, "Gaiyo! What the hell is going on here!"

"Relax, Geki is one of our spies, he's been with Norihiko for a few years now, giving us information when he could about his whereabouts, that's how we were able to track him here to Tokyo."

"So… you're… not really an evil little henchmen that I have to kill?"

Geki laughed, "No sir, I apologize for being so rough with you earlier but it was necessary in order for Norihiko to believe that I was on his side."

Kenshin had to laugh, "I recognize you now, you were one of the kids in the Satsuma clan."

"Yes sir, I never really wanted to fight you but I must admit that it was an honor to fight the legendary Battousai himself, thank you for the good fight."

"Anytime, but right now I need to get what I came for."

"Of course, sir, she's in the room right down the hall, you go take care of your lady friend and Gaiyo and I will clean up here."

"Thanks kid," Kenshin started off down the hall but before he rounded the corner he stopped and turned to face them once more, "Oh and Gaiyo…"

"Yes?"

"I'll get you for leaving me in the dark like this."

Gaiyo shook his head and watched as Kenshin ran off to find Kaoru. It didn't take long for him to find the room and he entered to see Kaoru asleep on the bed. He ran up to her and patted her cheek lightly, "Kaoru… Kaoru…"

She shot awake and immediately started struggling against him but he caught her face between his hands and made her look him in the eyes, "Kaoru, it's me."

She stared at him for a moment and tried to say his name but the gag muffled it to a whimpering sound. Kenshin quickly removed the scarf and untied her hands before she sat up and hugged him tightly, "Oh Kenshin! I'm so glad that you're alright, I was so worried!"

"I'm fine Kaoru, are you ok?"

"Yes, I am now, thank you for coming for me."

"I'd go to the ends of the earth for you, Kaoru, never doubt that."

She pulled away from him and took his face between her hands, kissing him lovingly before smiling playfully at the sweaty rurouni, "What took you so long, you jerk?"

Kenshin smiled, "Sorry, I had to fight off a psycho vampire."

Kaoru's face suddenly fell slightly, "Did you… did you kill him?"

"No, Geki did, surprisingly he's on our side."

"That's good to know."

Kenshin turned his head and kissed her palm, his voice deepening as he whispered, "I'm sorry Kaoru."

"For what?"

"For putting you in the middle of all of this, I never wanted you to get involved but you are and I'm sorry for that."

"Don't be Kenshin, I…"  
Kenshin stopped her by placing his fingers against her lips, "Before you say anything else I need to tell you something. I know I'm not perfect and I know that you deserve better than me but… I made a mistake with your grandmother and I don't want to make the same mistake with you. I… I love you, Kaoru, I always have and I always will and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know that times will be difficult as slayers find me but if you're with me I know I can handle it."

Kaoru moved away from his fingers and cocked her head to one side in confusion, "What are you trying to tell me, Kenshin?"

He smiled and took her hands in his own, looking directly into her deep blue eyes with his bright golden ones, "Will you marry me, Kaoru?"

"What?"

"You mean more to me then anything else in this world and I want you to become my wife, so… will you marry me?"

Kaoru's eyes filled with tears of happiness and she smiled beautifully at him, "Yes I will!"

She lunged forward and hugged him, knocking him onto the bed to where she was lying on top of him, getting him to chuckle as he ran his hands through her hair, "I promise I'll take care of you."

"I know but there is one condition about me marrying you, Kenshin."

"Oh, what's that, love?"

Kaoru pulled away to look at him and kissed his scar, a playful smile on her face, "Promise me that you'll never try to rescue me again."

Kenshin smiled and ran his knuckles over her cheek, "I can't promise you that, but I'll try… unless I'm the one you need rescuing from."

"I can handle you myself."

"Well see about that, won't we?"

Kenshin pulled her down and kissed her, not noticing the two men watching them, "Um… Kenshin…"

They parted and looked over to the door, flushing when they saw the two amused vampires in the doorway, "Are we interrupting something?" Gaiyo asked

Kenshin looked at Kaoru and smiled, "We need a warning for Yahiko… and Gaiyo too."

**A FEW MONTHS LATER**

Kenshin set Kaoru down on her feet and shut the door behind them before he took her into his arms for a passionate kiss, "You don't know how happy you've made me, Kaoru."

"I think I have an idea, so now what do we do now that we're finally by ourselves?"

Kenshin chuckled and started kissing her neck, "I have an idea."

Kaoru giggled as he scooped her up and set her on the bed, enjoying the feeling of his lips against her own as his hands started to untie the obi of her ceremonial kimono. After a moment she pushed him away enough to look him in the eyes, "Kenshin… will you do me a favor?"

"Anything, my love, what is it?"

"Will you… give me the last bite?"

"What! Kaoru… if I bite you again… you'll become a vampire!"

"I know but that's what I want, I don't want to be like my ancestor and let you watch me grow old and die. I want to be with you forever, Kenshin, I don't ever want to leave you."

"But… koishii… the life of a vampire is hard to live, especially the first few years."

"I know but I know I can handle it as long as you're by my side."

"Kaoru… I'm not sure…"

"Please Kenshin," she kissed him lovingly and looked at him with sparkling blue eyes as she gave him her famous, heart melting smile, "make me part of you… now and forever…"

Kenshin smiled softly and kissed her deeply, enjoying the sigh she gave him as he moved her kimono off of her shoulders. He kissed his way from her lips to her throat, nipping on the skin lightly before moving to the side of her neck, suckling on the sensitive tangle of nerves there. Kaoru sighed and arched up into him before he pulled away to look into her eyes, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said without hesitation, a comforting surety in her pretty voice.

Kenshin smiled and kissed her lips softly, "Always together… now… and forever…"

He moved back to her neck and kissed her pulse again, getting her to wrap her arms around him and pull him closer to her, "I love you, Kenshin."

"And I love you, Kaoru."

Without another word he opened his mouth and gently sunk his fangs into her pulse, enjoying the feeling of her sweet blood as it flowed out onto his awaiting tongue…

**IT'S FINALLY OVER! YEY! Sorry about this story, folks, I know it sucked, I really don't know what possessed me to start it in the first place. But anyways, I don't think that I'm going to write anymore stories for awhile, at least not until I can become a better author and come up with some good ideas. Thanks for the reviews gang, sorry to keep you waiting so long, love ya!**


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